Bleacher Report Identifies Vikings Worst Free Agent Signing
That didn’t take long.
The Minnesota Vikings signed offensive lineman Jesse Davis on Monday, and Bleacher Report already dropped the man into its “Every Team’s Worst Free Agent Signing” analysis piece published Tuesday.
Davis was inked to a deal for one year, including up to $3 million in earnings if he obtains incentives. Usually at that price, an offensive lineman of his caliber is nominated in a defacto manner as a starter.
And evidently, Bleacher Report isn’t impressed. Alex Kay wrote:
“Jesse Davis signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Vikings after his release from the Dolphins and is expected to compete for Minnesota’s starting RG job this summer. While Davis has plenty of experience in the league—he’s started 72 games over the past five years in Miami, earning snaps at every position but center—he’s also coming off an unsightly campaign in which he earned an even lower PFF grade (52.5) than Udoh. Davis allowed a troubling eight sacks and took four penalties last year while lining up as both a guard and tackle on the right side of Miami’s offensive trenches. Quarterback Kirk Cousins needs better protection now that he’s locked in through the 2023 season after signing his latest extension, but the Vikings should have looked elsewhere for help rather than take on a castoff from the lowest-rated O-line in football.”
– Alex Kay | Bleacher Report
Indeed, Davis feels like a makeshift solution amid a free-agent market that included Brandon Scherff and JC Tretter — at large price tags. The Vikings, though, entered the 2022 offseason in the fourth-worst salary cap situation leaguewide, so reference The Rolling Stones song You Can’t Always Get What You Want here.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”981814″ player=”26279″ title=”WATCH%205%20ideal%20Tyrann%20Mathieu%20free%20agent%20landing%20spots” duration=”123″ description=”Tyrann Mathieu remains on the NFL free-agent market, hitting said market as one of the best defensive backs available. While he’s getting up there in age, plenty of teams will want the Honey Badger on their defense in 2022.A three-time to Bowl selection and member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Mathieu was the heart of the Kansas City Chiefs defense. When the versatile safety couldn’t take the field, fans witnessed one of the worst overall defenses in the league. However, he made a significant impact when healthy.Turning 30 on May 13, the 5-foot-9 safety isn’t quite as good as he used to be. Even a slight decline won’t stop teams from opening up the checkbook to add a Swiss Army knife to their defense who can also be a team leader.Here are the best free-agent destinations for Tyrann Mathieu.” uploaddate=”2022-03-28″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/981689/981689.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Suddenly, Minnesota has a mini-training camp and preseason battle on its hands — especially if another interior offensive lineman is added in the draft — involving average football players. Slated for right guard competition, if Davis doesn’t win the job outright, are Davis, Oli Udoh, Wyatt Davis, and perhaps Austin Schlottmann.
Declaring Davis as a “bad” signing in March is wildly premature. But based on his Pro Football Focus resume (highest career grade in a season = 62.6 in 2020), the fix chosen by new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is not exciting and banks on a lot of hope.
And that’s been the case for the Vikings since the retirement of Bryant McKinnie and Steven Hutchinson, a seemingly eternal quest to fix the pass-protecting acumen of the offensive line. In one season during the last eight, the franchise ranked not-terrible via pass protection. That was 2017, and you should remember what the Vikings did — or almost did — that season.
Other “worst” players detailed by Kay around the NFL? Michael Pierce (Ravens), Marcus Mariota (Falcons), Randy Gregory (Broncos), and Chandler Jones (Raiders), among others.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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