Berrian hopes to remain a Viking

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Bernard Berrian and coach Leslie Frazier met on Monday and the embattled receiver is still a part of the Minnesota Vikings, but how long he will remain a member of the team is still in doubt.

Berrian said he and Frazier were going to meet again on Tuesday, but said he couldn't disclose the nature of the talks. He said he wants to remain on the team and wishes he could discuss the situation, but has been told not to say anything about the circumstances.

"Obviously I would, but I cannot talk about that," Berrian said. "It's very frustrating. Anything negative is always frustrating."

Berrian was a surprise deactivation for Sunday's 33-27 loss at home to the undefeated Green Bay Packers, his second deactivation in three weeks. Frazier's decision was made Sunday and Berrian said he was informed of the deactivation before he arrived at the Metrodome for the game.

Frazier wouldn't go into detail about the most recent benching of his one-time starter.

"There's just some things that he and I have to talk about to make sure that we get on the same page about what direction we want to go in," Frazier said. "And we're going to have a little meeting of the minds and see where we are."

Berrian was deactivated before the week five game against Arizona after reportedly missing two team meetings the day before. Berrian returned to the lineup last week and had his best game of the season with five catches for 54 yards against his former team, the Chicago Bears, but did have a costly drop in the first quarter which would have resulted in a first down.

He has just seven catches for 91 yards in his five games this season.

Berrian hoped the Chicago game was themaking of a fresh start, but believes past issues continue to haunt him.

"I've tried to put everything in the past, but one way or another something comes up," Berrian said. 

Following the week four loss at Kansas City, Berrian ended up in a Twitter feud with several fans, including state representative John Kriesel, a stadium advocate. But Frazier denied the Twitter controversy was the reason for Berrian's sitting the next week against Arizona. On Monday, Frazier wouldn't say if there were any new transgressions from Berrian that led to the most recent deactivation.

"Whatever transpired, it happened and then we had to make an alteration in our starting lineup, as you know," Frazier said, after Berrian's named appeared on the initial pregame introduction sheet before being replaced by Michael Jenkins. "We did it based on some of the things that had happened."

Berrian said he hoped Tuesday's meeting would bring clarification on what his role and future with the team would be, but he wasn't sure why this latest episode is happening.

"I don't know," Berrian said. "I don't know where it's coming from. It's a decision he's got to make and I'll know everything tomorrow."

Berrian came to Minnesota as one of the top free-agent receivers in 2008, but hasn't lived up to the 6-year, $42 million contract. One of his assertions on Twitter was that he's been "open for four years." But he hasn't developed a connection with any of the Vikings quarterbacks during that time, including Tarvaris Jackson, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb this year.

Berrian was coming off a 71-catch, 951-yard season in 2007 with the Bears. He posted just 48 catches his first season in Minnesota with Jackson and Gus Frerotte at quarterback, but did have a career-high 964 yards receiving thanks to a 20.1 yard-per-catch average and a career-best seven touchdowns. 

But with Favre at quarterback, Berrian slipped to 48 catches and four touchdowns the following season and caught just 28 passes with no touchdowns last year.

"It's been frustrating," Berrian said of his time in Minnesota. "It started off good and then it just kind of went downhill from there."

Berrian said he wasn't sure if he would still be on the team following Tuesday's meeting with Frazier. He reiterated his desire to be in Minnesota, pointing to the fact he restructured his contract during the offseason to remain a Viking.

"It's (Frazier's) decision," Berrian said. "I've done everything. It's out of my hands."

Asked if Berrian is a distraction for his 1-5 football team, Frazier responded: "One of the things that you're trying to do when you are where we are, is make sure everybody's focused on who we're playing. This week, I think we're playing Carolina. Everybody's focus has to be on the Carolina Panthers. We've just got to make sure that we get everybody focused on what we have to be focused on."