Vikings Release Safety Taylor Mays

Two weeks ago Taylor Mays talked about being reunited with Mike Zimmer, and to be honest he didn’t sound all that happy.

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“He’s always on me,” was all Mays would say in response to a question about what it was like to work with Zimmer, who coached the safety for several years in Cincinnati, and was presumably the reason he signed with Minnesota.

Well Taylor doesn’t have to worry about Zimmer being on him anymore, because today the Vikings announced that they have released him.

Mays signed with the Vikings on a one-year deal in late March after getting sniffs from several other teams, including the Raiders, Rams and Redskins.

The former second-round pick was considered a bust after stints in San Francisco and Cincinnati, but it was thought he could bring value to the Vikings as a special teams player and hybrid linebacker in specialized sub-packages.

The sudden release of Mays before mini-camp has to make you wonder what the Vikings saw out of him during OTAs. Was it a question of effort on the practice field? Was it an attitude thing?

One thing I know with fair certainty: Mays was never going to be in the mix to start at safety. Though he did find a role in Zimmer’s defense in Cincinnati, he was never a starting-caliber player.

Mays would have had to show massive improvement to leap-frog over Robert Blanton, Antone Exum and Andrew Sendejo to claim the starting spot alongside Harrison Smith. Realistically, whatever future he had in Minnesota was as a utility player/special teams ace.

Clearly, the Vikings didn’t think he brought enough to the table in those roles to be worth keeping.

Next: Antone Exum is one to watch

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