Which players should not be a part of the 2021 Minnesota Vikings?
Thanks to injuries, a high number of players saw the field for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2020 season that typically wouldn’t have.
Among the guys who filled in for the injured players, a number of them took advantage of their increased opportunities including Tyler Conklin, Eric Wilson, Ezra Cleveland, and Jeff Gladney.
However, there were plenty of players that did not perform well for the Vikings in 2020 after injuries forced the team to increase their snaps on the field. Unfortunately, these instances seemed to be more common than the guys who experienced success with their extra playing time.
Luckily for Minnesota, a few of these disappointing players will hit free agency when the new league year begins in March. So the Vikings won’t have to worry about eating any money in order to part ways with some of the guys who didn’t make the most of their chances on the field this past season.
Of the players from Minnesota’s 2020 roster, there are a few that the team needs to make sure they do not bring back for next season. Who are some of these guys that the Vikings need to prevent from suiting up in purple in gold in 2021?
Dakota Dozier – LG
Finding a positive word to describe the performance of Dakota Dozier in 2020 is extremely difficult. Dozier was one of the worst offensive linemen in the entire NFL this past season and yet, it didn’t stop the Vikings from leaving him in the starting lineup for all 16 of their games.
After being used sparingly in 2019, Minnesota decided to bring Dozier back for the 2020 season. Most figured he would just continue his role as a backup offensive lineman, but then he emerged as the team’s starting left guard.
There was a bit of optimism before the season about Dozier taking over at left guard for the Vikings, but it was likely just because it was someone different in the role other than Pat Elflein. Minnesota quickly learned that Elflein looked like Steve Hutchinson out on the field compared to Dozier.
Dozier had a terrible performance during the 2020 season that saw him get flagged for nine penalties, give up six sacks, and allow a quarterback pressure on eight percent of his pass-blocking snaps.
He will be hitting free agency this offseason and there is absolutely no reason for the Vikings to re-sign him. There are zero benefits for Minnesota to bring Dozier back for 2021, even as a backup.
Shamar Stephen – DT
Minnesota’s defensive coaches seem to have some sort of weird obsession with Shamar Stephen that portrays him as the second-coming of John Randle. But Stephen isn’t even the second-coming of Chris Hovan, so it’s hard to understand what he does so well that results in the Vikings coaches raving about him.
With Michael Pierce’s decision to opt-out of the 2020 season due to health concerns related to COVID-19, Stephen was forced to spend a bunch of his time on the field this year lined up as Minnesota’s nose tackle. Unsurprisingly, the position switch didn’t go very well.
In 16 games this past season, Stephen finished with 34 tackles (two for a loss), five pressures, three quarterback hits, and 0.5 sacks. His underwhelming performance was also a big factor in the Vikings ending 2020 with the 27th-ranked run defense.
Stephen has one year remaining on his contract with Minnesota and his cap hit for 2021 is currently scheduled to be just over $5 million. The Vikings would save just under $4 million if they cut the defensive tackle this year and this is exactly what they should do.
Sean Mannion – QB
During his three seasons with the Vikings, Kirk Cousins has never missed a game due to injury. Minnesota should be especially thankful that Cousins has been able to remain so healthy for the last two years since his primary backup has been Sean Mannion.
For as disappointing of a season that the Vikings had in 2020, it could have been even worse if Mannion had to fill in for Cousins for a few games.
Mannion has somehow found a way to remain in the NFL for six years despite having fewer than 400 career passing yards, no passing touchdowns, and an 0-2 record as a starter. It’s hard to understand what the Vikings saw in him to keep him as their No. 2 quarterback for the last two seasons.
Mannion will become a free agent this year and despite his affordability, Minnesota needs to find a new backup quarterback that is actually capable of leading the team to a victory if Cousins has to miss any time in 2021.
Chris Jones – CB
In Week 16 of the 2020 season against the New Orleans Saints in front of a national audience, the Vikings decided to show everyone at home watching just how bad their defense was when it came to tackling.
Minnesota ended up letting Saints running back Alvin Kamara score a whopping six touchdowns during the matchup. Kamara ran all over the Vikings defense, which finished with a total of 15 missed tackles during the game.
Minnesota cornerback Chris Jones played a part in the disaster in New Orleans and he had plenty of head-scratching moments in 2020 as well.
While Jones made a few impressive plays this past season, there was also more than one occasion in which he pretty much gave up attempting to tackle the opposing ball-carrier. Unfortunately, injuries to other players prevented the Vikings from being able to bench Jones for his lack of tackling effort.
Predicting where the Vikings free agents will land in 2021
The Minnesota Vikings have a good amount of players from their 2020 roster hitting free agency in 2021. Where will some of them land?
Combine this with the 74.2 percent completion rate and two touchdowns he allowed to his coverage in eight games for the purple and gold in 2020 and it’s hard to find any convincing reasons for why Minnesota should re-sign the young corner when he becomes a free agent in March.