Which Minnesota Vikings players won’t be missed in 2021?
With the 2020 season now drawing to a close, attention is quickly turning to what promises to be another eventful offseason for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are in the midst of some serious salary-cap complications as the financial resources available are set to come down in 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so some difficult decisions need to be made by the organization in order to remain competitive next time around.
This is the nature of the beast, unfortunately. Minnesota backed themselves into a corner with lofty contracts and they are now paying the price. But they do have plenty of 2021 NFL Draft picks at their disposal despite giving up their 2021 second-rounder to acquire Yannick Ngakoue for just six games before he was eventually shipped off to the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s been a season full of ups and downs for the Vikings, who will miss the playoff after reaching the divisional round in 2019.
Defensive woes have been the key to Minnesota’s demise for the first time in Mike Zimmer’s reign and their lack of reliability protecting Kirk Cousins on the interior is another notable takeaway from the campaign that shouldn’t be overlooked.
When it comes to 2021, who are a few Vikings players that won’t be missed when they inevitably moved on during the upcoming offseason?
Player No. 1
Dakota Dozier – LG
If Dakota Dozier was hoping to stake a claim for a bigger role next season, then things haven’t worked out as anticipated. The offensive lineman has struggled in 2020 and there appears little doubt he’ll be moved on from once his contract expires.
The former fourth-round pick has given up six sacks and he’s been flagged for nine penalties during 1,083 snaps this season. Dozier has been flustered throughout the campaign on the interior and his lowly 44.6 grade from Pro Football Focus is a further indication of just how he’s underperformed.
There should be a complete overhaul to the interior protection in Minnesota during the 2021 offseason, which should leave Dozier on the outside looking in.