Vikings Territory Breakdown: The Vikings Competitive Rebuild Continues

  |  
Mar 30, 2022

The new Vikings regime of Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adolpho-Mensah continued reshaping the team this past week—and they are doing a lot of signing of players for a team that was so cap-cash strapped as the offseason began. The biggest news was the signing of former Green Bay Packers edge rusher Za’Darius Smith—and the even bigger surprise is how little the cap hit is for the Purple this season: about $3 million. Meanwhile, the Packers will be paying Smith $11 million to sack their own quarterback, and the irony of that situation cannot be overstated.

The Green Bay fans like to point out the propensity of the Vikings to bring in former Packers through free agency (e.g. Brett Favre, Ryan Longwell and Darren Sharper, for starters) and this season is no different. With three former Packers coaches now working out of TCO Performance Center (Mike Pettine, Ed Donatell and Mike Smith), the migration of former Green and Gold defenders was somewhat to be expected. The Vikings signed former Packers slot corner Chandon Sullivan to their squad, and the wailing and gnashing of teeth to the east had begun. But we here in Purple Nation say “have at it, because the idea of having the Citizen team-owners of Wisconsin paying the lion’s share of Smith’s salary helps us raise our collective palm and “say talk to the hand”—you know, the one with your cash in it.

The Vikings continued to fortify the cornerback position this past week by signing CB Nate Hairston and re-signing CB Tye Smith (but it is still that first Smith contract that has us Vikings boosters all atwitter). They also signed another Davis—OL Jesse Davis—to battle the existing Davis—Wyatt Davis—for the right guard position. So, if you want to play right guard for the Vikings this season and your last name isn’t Davis, well, as the folks at Monty Python might say, “that’s going to cause a little confusion.”

But Mark Craig from the Star Tribune joins Joe Oberle from purplePTSD to sort it all out on the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast. Neither one of them is named Davis, so don’t expect them to be vying for a crack at the RG position, but count on them to venture some speculation as to who might win it.

Segment 1: Joe and Mark talk

[brid video=”983256″ player=”32195″ title=”Vikings%20Territory%20Breakdown%20Offseason%206.1″ duration=”999″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2022-03-30″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/snapshot/983256_th_1648673302.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/sd/983256.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

Segment 2: Joe and Mark talk

  • Kwesi said it is a “competitive rebuild.”
  • Sean Mannion
  • “Kirk is our dog.”

[brid video=”983257″ player=”32195″ title=”Vikings%20Territory%20Breakdown%20Offseason%206.2″ duration=”1198″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2022-03-30″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/snapshot/983257_th_1648673343.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/sd/983257.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

Segment 3: Joe and Mark talk

[brid video=”983258″ player=”32195″ title=”Vikings%20Territory%20Breakdown%20Offseason%206.3″ duration=”1396″ description=”undefined” uploaddate=”2022-03-30″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/snapshot/983258_th_1648673364.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/sd/983258.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

Former Vikings Safety Joins Packers

Vikings Territory Also Read: Former Vikings Safety Joins Packers