PFT: Vikes decide to pay Williamson afterall

[WoodysGirl]

POSTED 1:41 p.m. EST, November 10, 2007
VIKES CAVE ON WILLIAMSON PAY

Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the Minnesota Vikings have decided to pay receiver Troy Williamson his salary for Week Nine.
Previously, the team had decided to dock Williamson one game check because he missed Sunday's contest against the Chargers due to the death of his grandmother.

Coach Brad Childress said that he made the decision after discussing the matter with ownership and the team's leadership council.

"In the end, after conversations with the Wilfs and the leadership group, [the Vikings] decided that he [should] receive that paycheck," Childress said. "The big thing is, everybody grieves differently. That's the message conveyed to me by the group."

Childress addressed the team on Saturday morning regarding the issue, and he also has spoken with Williamson about it.

The broader question, however, is whether paying Williamson the money is enough to reverse the damage. Our guess is that Williamson won't want to play for the team come 2008, if Childress is still the coach. And we doubt that the move will be enough to calm a burgeoning mutiny among the veteran players and the coaching staff.

In fact, it's possible that the reversal could actually fuel more hard feelings against Childress, if the impression that Childress conveys through his words and/or demeanor is that he changed course only because someone named Wilf twisted the coach's arm.