Vikings Free Agency 2022: Arrivals, departures, and rumors from Day 1
By Adam Patrick
Departures – Day 1
Mason Cole – IOL
- New Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
- Contract: 3 years, $15.75 million
After making the most of his seven starts with the Vikings last season, Mason Cole has landed himself a solid deal from the Steelers. With the amount of money Pittsburgh gave him, one should expect Cole to be Week 1 starter for his new team as either a center or a guard.
Xavier Woods – S
- New Team: Carolina Panthers
- Contract: 3 years, $15.75 million
In his one season with Minnesota, Xavier Woods was solid, but his performance was nothing special. PFF graded Woods as the 39th-best safety in the NFL last year and that feels pretty spot-on.
With this departure, young Vikings safety Camryn Bynum might get the opportunity to be a starter next to Harrison Smith next season.
Michael Pierce – DT
Once the signing of Harrison Phillips was announced, Minnesota moving on from Michael Pierce seemed pretty inevitable. So it wasn’t much of a surprise on Monday when it was reported that the Vikings are planning to release Pierce.
Dakota Dozier – OL
With the franchise for the last three seasons, Dakota Dozier’s tenure with Minnesota sounds like it has reached the end as KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reported on Monday that the team recently called the offensive lineman to let him know that they won’t be re-signing him.