Around the time on Monday night when news broke that Anthony Barr would be leaving Minnesota for the New York Jets, the Vikings placed a call to Barr’s agent, Brian Murphy, for a conversation that offered them a sliver of hope.
Barr, Murphy informed the Vikings, was having second thoughts about the deal he was set to sign in New York (which would have paid him around $15 million a year and made him a featured pass rusher in the Jets’ 3-4 defense). As appetizing as the offer seemed, Barr decided on Monday night to sleep on it before Murphy would take the steps to turn the linebacker’s verbal agreement into an official deal.