4 free agents who have a connection to Minnesota Vikings coaches

Carlos Dunlap, defensive end – Seattle Seahawks

Connection to Vikings: Mike Zimmer

The Seahawks released Carlos Dunlap in an effort to save money against the salary cap after trading for him in the middle of the season. Before that, the pass rusher was a member of the Bengals for a little more than 10 seasons.

While with Cincinnati, Dunlap played under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Of course, Zimmer would leave the Bengals in 2014 to become the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. From 2010 to 2013, where he played in 54 games with 17 starts and racked up 27.5 sacks in that time as well as 146 combined tackles.

Dunlap isn’t the youngster he was back then. Now, the defensive end is 32 years old but is still able to get some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He had six sacks in 2020 and nine in 2019. If he had those numbers in Minnesota over the last two seasons, he would have led the Vikings in that category over that time period.

It will be interesting to see what kind of contract Dunlap gets in free agency, especially since he was released at a time where he doesn’t have to wait for the start of free agency to sign somewhere else. The Minnesota Vikings need help rushing the passer, and they should very well inquire about what it would take to acquire Dunlap’s services.