Questions Answered: Clearing Cap for a Big Move, Only 5 WRs, Why on Watts?
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the August 30th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
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Q: Are the Vikings clearing cap space by releasing Armon Watts and trading Jesse Davis?
A: Yes, it appears so.
The Vikings were limited with cap space before Tuesday. With the moves involving Jesse Davis and Armon Watts, that number should settle around $6 or 7 million.
And Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could use the sum in a handful of ways — landing a different center, an extra wide receiver, more CB depth, or Ndamukong Suh.
Something seems to be brewing, especially with the release of a starter in Watts.
Q: Do you expect the Vikings to roll into Week 1 with just five WRs?
A: It wouldn’t be unheard of.
More realistically, we expect the Vikings to find an extra wide receiver, either on the waiver wire (a Tyler Johnson type) or through trade (a Jalen Reagor type). But that is speculatory.
Last year, the Los Angeles Rams, the team that last employed Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, carried six WRs into 2021. It isn’t high on our this-will-happen-list, but we expect Minnesota to onboard one more wideout.
Q: Why on earth did they cut Armon Watts? Make it make sense.
A: Watts’ release was truly stunning, mainly because he was listed as a starter on the Vikings in-house depth chart.
Now, onlookers must decide if the trade for Ross Blacklock was a Watts replacement — or eventual depth behind free agent Ndamukong Shu, who’s been linked to the Vikings via rumor for about three months.
Regardless, Watts seemed like a player that a team would bench rather than cut. His departure from the team was the most shocking news of the day. Watts will catch on elsewhere — fast.
In the end, they either feel like Blacklock is a better fit or someone like Suh is on the way.
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).
