Frerotte finding work at home?

Two-time Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte may get his wish to play close to his family by becoming a two-time St. Louis Ram.

After a whirlwind week, it looks as though Gus Frerotte will land on his feet and closer to home. Frerotte, who was released last week when the Vikings traded for Sage Rosenfels, had been rumored to be contemplating retirement if he wasn’t given a legitimate chance to start with the Vikings in 2009. When the Vikes traded for Rosenfels, that option went out the door.

But it may turn out to be a blessing for Frerotte. In his time with the Vikings, his biggest and most painful adjustment was being separated from his wife and children. When he came to Minnesota, he and his wife made the decision to not move the family along with him – a decision he later came to regret. They stayed in St. Louis – the last previous stop of Frerotte’s nomadic NFL existence. It now appears that Frerotte may be able to continue his playing career and stay close to his family.

Frerotte is in talks to re-join the Rams a year after being shown the door. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo is said to have been impressed with Frerotte’s 8-3 record as a starter last year and the Rams are in discussions to bring him back.

If so, it would be a nice ending for a player who was willing to choose family over football and now may not have to decide.

SATURDAY NOTES

Reports that had Denver cornerback Karl Paymah visiting the Vikings this weekend may have been premature. Paymah is scheduled to meet with Tampa Bay officials today and possibly tomorrow and then with Cleveland. If he’s still a free agent after those visits, he could be coming to Minnesota.

Former Vikings DT C.J. Mosley, who was traded to the Jets as part of the Brooks Bollinger deal in 2006, has signed a two-year, $5 million deal with the Browns.

The family of Marquis Cooper, who briefly played with the Vikings and went missing at sea a week ago today, has called off its own search for his body. The Coast Guard, which found one of the passengers on the boat clinging to the overturned remains of the boat, was found Monday and said the other three members of the fishing party took off their life jackets after losing hope of rescue.

After Terrell Owens’ release by the Cowboys, we attempted to shoot down any chance of him coming to Minnesota because of his fractious relationship with Brad Childress. The Vikings aren’t alone in that. Although his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is touting that several unnamed teams are interested in him, there are some that can be almost immediately ruled out. The Giants, Jaguars and Buccaneers have already said they’re not interested. He won’t be making a second engagement in Philadelphia or Dallas. He had a similar blowup with Todd Haley, which takes the Chiefs out of the running. With Bill Parcells in Miami, “the player” as he liked to call him, probably won’t be butting heads with him in Miami. It may come down to Oakland or Washington – one team that has never shied away from signing malcontents and another that spends gratuitously on veterans who are well past their prime years.

As for the Vikings, Rick Spielman, vice president of player personnel, told reporters on Friday that “we would never say never, but you can put the pieces together and the history with Coach Childress.” It appears the Vikings are saying N.O. to T.O.