There's no question Cris Carter has earned his Hall of Fame credentials already. But his Vikings career may be far from over -- even if his playing days conclude after this season as he has been saying.

Cris Carter isn't going to go away after the 2001 season -- not if he has his way. While he may not be wearing his No. 80 in 2002, he intends to remain a part of the Vikings -- a big part.

Last week, Carter said he had big plans after his playing days were over and, from what VU is being told, those plans remain focused on the Vikings.
VU has been told that Carter would like to move to the front office after his playing days end and become director of player personnel, helping make decisions on who comes to the Vikings, who stays with the Vikings and who leaves the Vikings.

Not only that, but, like many people, Carter is not convinced that Red McCombs will stick to his promise to keep the Vikings in Minnesota. But, unlike most people, he is aware that there is a bomb clause in McCombs ownership deal that almost completely prevents him from moving the team from Minnesota -- a signed document between the NFL and the State Legislature would promise Minnesota another team within two years and the lawsuit that would come out of the Vikings leaving could make Al Davis' billion-dollar law baby pale by comparison.

Carter has hinted he will be looking to become a partial owner -- even a majority owner -- of the Vikings if McCombs decides to sell. This is good news for Vikings fans for one primary reason. The only way McCombs could truly justify moving the team is if no local ownership group would step forward if Red becomes fed up with the stadium problem. With Carter apparently on board, he could be the point man in a deal of Minnesota's financial elite to assure that the team stays here -- very good news for hardcore Vikes fans.

WEDNESDAY NOTES
* Another reminder and update to our on-line readers. This site at Rivals remains up and a conference call is set for today to attempt to keep this site and many of the others currently associated with Rivals up and running in another forum. However, if you hit this site in coming days and don't get anything, bookmark the site VikingUpdate.com because we've got the back end covered and will shift our operations to that site if needed. Just a heads up in advance.
* The Vikings are quietly concerned about the contract signed by Michael Vick (officially inking today) and how it will affect Daunte Culpepper. It's one thing when a player like Brett Favre gets $10 million a year, but when a rookie -- much less a potential bust like Vick -- gets $10 million a year, it's troubling. While the deal could wind up being far less -- the final three years contain about $45 million of the total contract cost -- the bar has been raised again, much in the same way the signings of Joey Galloway and Keyshawn Johnson in 2000 raised the ante on re-signing Randy Moss.
* The Vikings' chances of getting Cortez Kennedy are all but dead. A Dolphins source of VU's told us Tuesday that Miami is trying to work out a deal with Kennedy and he's asking for $2 million this season. He likely won't get that, but it's four times what the Vikes have offered.
* In former Vikings news, a Redskins source told us that the expected signing of Trent Dilfer may have hit a snag. Marty Schottenheimer is worried that Dilfer could easily get a lot of offensive players to prefer him as the starter to Jeff George, who has been described as cocky and standoffish. While George was in Minnesota, he was nothing but a gentleman, which makes the whole return of his selfish nature seem a little out of character, but it may be enough to keep Schottenheimer from pursuing Dilfer and avoiding the potential of a fractured locker room.