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This short post is going to need a lot of prefacing. Such as:

*We're not coming at this without any detailed knowledge of exactly how free agency will work in the uncapped NFL in 2010. What we presume from reading: there will be a smaller pool of players, and the very best teams will be limited in what they can do. So the point could be moot already.

*We have no idea if the Vikings would ever consider going after Julius Peppers, seeing as how it would almost certainly involve adding another huge chunk of change to their already spendy defensive line. So the point could be moot here, too.

*We have no idea whether going against Peppers daily in practice would have a profound and negative impact on Bryant McKinnie.

*We're not even really sure how much of an upgrade Peppers would be over the Vikings' own defensive end free agent, Ray Edwards (who would be a restricted free agent if there is no new Collective Bargaining Agreement).

All we know is that we saw an article this morning quoting Peppers as saying he doesn't want to sign a long-term contract with his current team, Carolina. And all we could think about is Peppers on one side, Jared Allen on the other, and Kevin Williams rushing up the middle.

Now we can't stop thinking about much else. And thinking about what-ifs sure is fun.