Questions Answered: Vikings Updated Cap Space, Ereck Flowers or JC Tretter, Dozier to the Windy City
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by PurplePTSD. Today is the March 24th 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.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”978752″ player=”26281″ title=”WATCH%20Where%20will%20Libertys%20Malik%20Willis%20land%20in%20the%202022%20NFL%20Draft” duration=”123″ description=”Former Liberty quarterback Malik Willis impressed onlookers during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He took that to a new level during the program’s pro day just recently.For the 6-foot Willis, this has been an opportunity for him to show teams that he’s capable of being a franchise guy heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s seen as a relatively weak positional group, meaning there’s room for advancement when it comes to the small-school product.” uploaddate=”2022-03-23″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/978666/978666.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Q: What does the cap look like for the Vikings with Danielle’s money converted to bonus?
A: This one is tricky.
Before the Za’Darius Smith contract hits the books, the Vikings are aboveboard by about $14 million. But it is unclear how much of Smith’s 2022 cap hit will reduce the $14 million.
The safe answer is $14 million — plus a wait-and-see asterisk.
Q: Should we prefer Ereck Flowers or JC Tretter in free agency? Both are rumored, I think.
A: JC Tretter, by a mile.
Tretter isn’t “some guy” who could perhaps solve the Vikings offensive line woes. Instead, he’s a fabulous solution — with few in the league better than him to pass-protect at center.
A Tretter addition to the team could be more impactful than Za’Darius Smith [on his side of the ball]. That’s predominantly because the Vikings offensive line has stunk for so long — it’d be nice to formally fix it.
Flowers, on the other hand, would be a reasonable consolation price to the Tretter Sweepstakes. But he ain’t no Tretter.
Q: Why, oh why, would the Bears sign Dakota Dozier?
A: Reverse trolling, maybe?
Dozier struggled mightily with the Vikings, so his arrival in Chicago is flummoxing and comical. He’s probably just a depth offensive lineman. But, who knows? The Bears social media team really hyped his acquisition.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. 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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