Howie: An open letter to Zygi and Mark Wilf: cc: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Look, I won’t dance around it — we both know what this letter is about. It’s about C.J. Ham, the fullback with the iron shoulders and the Denfeld roots, the kid who grew up pounding frozen turf in Duluth’s West End and somehow willed himself all the way onto your roster, your locker room, and your hearts.

Now he’s inching into his early-30s, which in football years is basically grandpa territory, especially for a fullback in today’s spread-it-out, pass-happy league. It’d be easy for some analytics wizard or bean counter to say it’s time to let him walk. But I’m here to ask — heck, to urge — that you see the bigger picture. That you keep him right here in purple with a new two-year deal extension.

Something modest by NFL standards: two years, maybe $3.2 million total, with roughly $1.25 million guaranteed, sprinkled with workout and per-game roster bonuses that keep things tidy on the cap. A fair wage for a local legend, and a downright bargain for you.

Because let’s not kid ourselves about what you’re buying. You’re not just paying for a 240-pound freight train who can collapse a linebacker’s chest on third-and-one. Or the special teams snaps he’s still out there grinding on, long after most vets would be asking out. Or the ability to line up as a pseudo-tight end in your heavy sets. You’re paying for the heart and backbone of your locker room. For a guy who knows every assistant trainer’s kid’s name. Who’s probably texted your rookie QB at 10 p.m. just to make sure he’s studying his playbook. Who brings a blue-collar humility that resonates with your fan base in a way money simply can’t buy.

This is a guy who’s spent his entire career with the Minnesota Vikings. That’s basically a unicorn these days. You know it. I know it. Players bounce around faster than ever chasing contracts — and teams are just as quick to cut bait for the next shiny draft pick. Keeping a hometown kid who made good, who stayed loyal, who became a fixture not just in your scheme but in your community? That’s the stuff that cements lifelong fan loyalty, sells jerseys at retail outlets in Hermantown, and fills seats even in the lean years.

It’s also about what C.J. does when he’s not lowering his helmet into some poor linebacker’s sternum. The youth football camps. The visits to local schools. The work with underserved kids who see in him exactly what we all see — proof that if a kid from Duluth can do it, maybe they can too. You want to talk about brand ambassadors? There’s your brand ambassador. The Vikings logo might be on the outside, but it’s guys like C.J. who keep it beating on the inside.

So here’s my humble request: Sign him up. Extend him for two more years. Let him keep blocking, keep mentoring, keep representing everything you claim to value as an organization — hard work, humility, community. Let him finish his story right here, as a Viking for life. Because I promise you, there will come a day — long after his cleats are hung up — when you’ll be glad you did. When some kid from Duluth walks into TCO Performance Center and says, “I grew up watching C.J. Ham,” and you get to say, “Yeah, he was always one of ours.”

And trust me — from up here on the shores of Lake Superior, we’ll be watching. And we’ll remember.