I say “convinced” somewhat facetiously of course. Had Cam not taken the pay cut he would’ve just been released, and there’s a good possibility no one else would’ve picked him up. There are probably lots of fans who wish Camarillo had simply been shown the door, especially those who are disappointed Manny Arceneaux ended up on the practice squad instead of the roster.

Camarillo is currently no better than 4th on the receiver depth chart. Fellow wide-out Bernard Berrian also took a pay-cut this offseason as the Vikings scrambled to get under the cap.

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Today the time came for Dugan and fellow Viking veteran fixture Heath Farwell. Dugan was actually thought to be fairly safe after the Vikings dumped fullbacks Ryan D’Imperio and Matt Asiata, the thinking being that Dugan and Jim Kleinsasser could pick up reps at fullback along with their tight end work, but obviously the coaching staff had different ideas.

The Farwell release is less surprising given his inflated 2011 cap number and the fact that, with the new kickoff rules, return team specialists like him are not valued as highly as in previous years.

These two moves also make it clear that the Vikings are committed to getting younger. The Farwell release opens the door for UDFA Larry Dean to make the squad as a back-up linebacker/special teamer, while Dugan’s dismissal clears a spot for UDFA Allen Reisner (though the Vikings could still opt to use Dugan’s slot on a free agent fullback and slip the talented Reisner onto the practice squad).

A lot of fans are probably feeling a little pang of sadness over the losses of these two well-liked blue-collar guys, but the truth is that neither man had huge value on the team. The younger players taking their places have a lot of promise, and I think the time was right for both Dugan and Farwell to move on.

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Reports are that E.J. is healthy enough right now to fully participate once camp opens.  But we’ll have to see how the Vikings decide to play that.  They could elect to place Henderson on the PUP list, and bring him along slowly.

As I indicated before, when healthy, Henderson has shown elite skills, especially as a run-stopper and up-the-middle pass rusher.  But, the last two years, Henderson’s march to the Pro Bowl was cut short.  In 2008, surgery on his left foot ended his year after only four games.  And in ’09, as we all vividly remember, he suffered a gruesome leg break against Arizona, and was forced to watch the Vikings’ playoff run from the sidelines.

The man who replaced Henderson last season, Jasper Brinkley, comes into camp as a rising talent.  We’re looking for further improvement from Brinkley, who becomes an important player when you consider E.J.’s history of not being able to finish seasons.

As far as the outside spots go, Ben Leber and Chad Greenway are as locked-in as you can get.  Rookie Nate Triplett will vie with Kenny Onatolu, J Leman and Erin Henderson to win back-up/special teams roles.

Heath Farwell returns as one of the league’s most fearsome crazy man-crushing special teams bastards.

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