Michael Pierce Headlines The Top 3 Vikings Cut Candidates
Henrique Gucciardi
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After the conference finals, the Super Bowl is set. But more importantly than that, the Vikings have a new GM. With Kwesi Adofo-Mensah being the new guy in charge, the head coach search is hitting its stride, and finalists are set to interview again this week. But that’s not what I’m going to talk about.
K. Joudry gave me the idea of doing a top 3 players to cut, trade, extend, etc. So, for the next few days, I’ll bring these to you. I want to suggest players that make sense, either financially or based on on-field performances (or both). Most of the players who could be put on this list are already free agents (hello, Mack Alexander), making a cut impossible. A cut can only occur if someone is under contract.
Without further ado, let’s go to the list.
Michael Pierce, DT
This one, I’ll admit, is a bummer to me. I was really hyped when Minnesota signed him in 2020, especially when they paired him with Dalvin Tomlinson last year. However, he didn’t play much. He opted out of the 2020 season and dealt with an elbow injury last season.
In his absence, we saw a couple of young players stepping up. Armon Watts showed great improvements, receiving compliments from Andre Patterson, and James Lynch showed he can be a good rotational guy. The team can also re-sign Sheldon Richardson, who didn’t only help as a defensive tackle but off the edge as well.
The Vikings won’t save a ton if he’s cut before June 1st but can open $8.5 million if it’s a post-June 1st cut, incurring a $2 million dead cap for 2022 and 2023.
Oli Udoh, OG
Will this move save a lot of money? No. If Udoh is cut, he’ll clear a little less than $1 million. But, after a bad 2021 (maybe I overreacted a little after 3 solid-to-good games earlier in the season), there’s not much reason to believe Udoh will stay.
According to The Football Database, Udoh led the league in penalties with 13 – tied with Miami’s Austin Jackson – and was second in holdings, behind only Connor Williams. Pro Football Focus also didn’t think he had a good year, as his grade was the worst for our offensive line. Although he only allowed 1 sack, his PFF grade was 39.1 when blocking, which, to put it mildly, is less than optimal.
The Vikings used a third-round pick on Wyatt Davis last April, and for some reason, he didn’t even get a chance to play. They also traded for Mason Cole, who did a good job replacing both Bradbury and Udoh when needed. Cole is a free agent, so it’ll be up to KAM and the new head coach to re-sign him or not.
Parry Nickerson, Corner
Nickerson is on the books for roughly $900,000 in 2022. That’s a lot of money for someone who played only 52 snaps last year, with 35 being on special teams. Cutting him will open up close to 900 thousand dollars. Yes, the Vikings don’t have any depth at the cornerback position, but a cut is still possible here.
The Vikings are scheduled to be more than $15 million over the cap but can save around $10 million by cutting these three players. Moving on from the corner isn’t a bold, headline-snagging decision, but it would be a small step toward more financial flexibility.
That’s it for today, folks. In the coming days I’ll bring the next articles. The next topic? Three players that could be traded.
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