Outbound CB Takes Parting Shot at Vikings Front Office
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings cut ties with Cameron Dantzler (CB, Commanders), Eric Kendricks (LB, Chargers), Patrick Peterson (CB, Steelers), Adam Thielen (WR, Panthers), Dalvin Tomlinson (DT, Browns), Duke Shelley (CB, Raiders), Irv Smith (TE, Bengals) this offseason, making the 2023 roster younger, faster, and more affordable.
Another man departed this week, cornerback Kris Boyd, who joined the Arizona Cardinals.
Outbound CB Takes Parting Shot at Vikings Front Office
And on his way out, Boyd was ultra-grateful to everyone associated with the Vikings — except the team’s front office and most coaches.
In the aftermath of his Minnesota exodus, Boyd posted to Instagram, “Viks nation, speaking specifically to the fans, the city of Minneapolis, and the players only!! Plus coach Hat & Daronte. My brothers, I love y’all dearly and appreciate y’all, and the fans for every relationship that was built and the love that was given! Know we locked!”
Keyword: only. That effectively says ‘thank you’ to everybody but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and all coaches sans two — a pointed goodbye designed to exclude certain factions.
Boyd has a feisty and firebrand history before the Instagram sayonara, so in that vein, the well wishes are no surprise. Speaking to former Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson on the All Things Covered podcast last summer, Boyd sarcastically declared about the Vikings coaching staff led by Mike Zimmer from 2014 to 2021, “They would walk around with their assholes, like, tight.”
“They would always be strict about everything. Like any time you messed up, it’s like the world ended,” Boyd explained about Zimmer and his coaching staff.
The musings from Boyd were a mere confirmation of items learned after Zimmer departed. The former regime ran the Vikings in a rigid Parcellsian way, which some players evidently lamented after the club stopped consistently winning.
In addition to leaving the Vikings current leadership off his thank-you list and chiding the rectums of the previous coaching staff, Boyd teed off on Vikings fans last October. After a win over the New Orleans Saints in London last season, he tweeted, “We got some ungrateful fans….I don’t be on the internet looking for shit but we won and some were still complaining….We got a big Dub! We 3-1 stfu….Please find another team if you not satisfied or stfu!!???”
Boyd played just 37 defensive snaps in 2022, head coach Kevin O’Connell’s first year on the job, but was a keynote special teams performer. He was on the field 82% of the time for special teams, meaning some unknown Viking will step in this season to fill “the Boyd role” in 2023.
During his career in purple, Boyd produced this passer-rating-against resume:
- 2019 = 89.6
- 2020 = 121.4
- 2021 = 114.7
- 2022 = 127.1
Arizona’s defense struggled mightily in 2022, ranking 24th in passing yards allowed, 27th in 3rd Down conversion percentage allowed, 31st in points allowed, and last in completion percentage allowed. The only place to go is up.
Along with Boyd, the Cardinals also employ David Blough (QB), Nate Hairston (CB), and Blake Lynch (LB) as former Vikings.
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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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