Vikings given a surprising grade for their 2021 offseason moves
By Adam Patrick
Not everyone has been a fan of what the Minnesota Vikings have done to their roster this offseason.
Following the conclusion of the 2020 season, the Minnesota Vikings knew they had some major work to do to their roster this year, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
A reduced salary cap made things a little more difficult for the Vikings this offseason, but they still managed to add some talent to their roster that should be able to help them get back to the playoffs in 2021.
The majority of Minnesota’s additions this year have been to their defense while their offense has seen a few notable names walk out the door. Will the roster moves made by the Vikings this offseason result in them getting back on the right path to the playoffs?
Minnesota Vikings receive a disappointing grade for their 2021 offseason decisions
While a number of Minnesota fans are excited about some of the team’s newest additions like Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson, others don’t believe the team did much to improve their roster this year.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport recently shared his grades for each NFL team’s offseason moves before this year’s draft and let’s just say he wasn’t too fond of what the Vikings did.
Davenport gave Minnesota a C- grade for their roster moves this offseason and it’s mostly due to the players the team parted ways with.
"“The departure of tackle Riley Reiff was a blow on the offensive front. While the team tried to offset the loss of Anthony Harris by adding Xavier Woods, the safety spot opposite Harrison Smith is a question mark.”"
The departure of someone who just signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals worth $7.5 million is “a blow” to the Vikings’ offensive line? Riley Reiff performed well last season, but let’s not act like Minnesota released a Hall of Fame left tackle this year.
Anthony Harris is also a talented player, but the Vikings’ defense wasn’t good when he was on the field last season, and his impressive performance in 2019 seems like it might have been a fluke.
Neither Reiff nor Harris has ever earned a single Pro Bowl selection in their NFL careers, but the Vikings are apparently going to be lost without them?
Minnesota’s offensive line and secondary were terrible last season with these two in the lineup. So the Vikings figured if these two units are going to continue to be awful in 2021, they might as well give some younger guys more opportunities, and not overpay a pair of veteran players.
With Minnesota’s new additions, it’s hard to imagine the defense will be worse next season than it was in 2020, and their offense is still full of playmakers like Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen.
But sure, let’s give the Vikings a terrible grade for not keeping two players who couldn’t even get contracts this offseason worth anything close to what Minnesota paid them during the last few years.