Cameron Dantzler Enters the New Year Facing a Familiar Hurdle
Safe to say that the 2023 calendar year was a difficult one for Cameron Dantzler. Unfortunately, 2024 isn’t looking too much better.
The talented young corner looked to be a building block for the Vikings since he was just getting to the end of his third season in the NFL and was still only 24. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had different plans. The new GM moved on from Dantzler, a decision that helped signal Minnesota was moving in a different direction. Since that fateful call from Adofo-Mensah, Dantzler has experienced no shortage of turmoil in his NFL career, as the latest bit of news further underscores.
Cameron Dantzler Cut Once Again
The Minnesota cut arrived on March 10th, 2023. The most recent cut arrived on January 1st, 2024.
Pro Football Talk offers the update: “The Saints waived cornerback Cameron Dantzler on Monday. Dantzler has bounced between the practice squad and active roster all season. He has played two games, but none since Oct. 1.”
Between the Vikings and Saints cuts, Dantzler played for three other teams, bringing his total to a whopping five different teams in 2023.
Initially, the Washington Commanders gave him a shot. The fit made some sense given that Ron Rivera’s crew was working through a transitional season where they’ve been looking to build toward the future. Onboarding a young, talented corner was sensible enough, but the relationship didn’t last long. Dantlzer was a Washington employee from March 13th to May 30th.
Next up were the Buffalo Bills and then the Houston Texans. In neither instance did Dantzler find a permanent home, instead sticking around for a matter of weeks and months rather than years. New Orleans was the latest employer, but that relationship has fallen into the familiar pattern.
The Mississippi State alumnus will again be able to play elsewhere. At 6’2″, Dantzler has good length but there have long been concerns about his 4.64 speed.
Moreover, the simple fact that so many teams have given him a try before ultimately deciding to move on — Minnesota, Washington, Buffalo, Houston, New Orleans — suggests that there’s more to the story than what we’re seeing. Young, upside corners generally have a knack for sticking around a roster, so the Dantzler odyssey has been strange to see.
And it’s worth noting that all kinds of teams — a Super Bowl contender in Buffalo, mid-level teams like Minnesota, rebuilds like Houston — have given the corner a shot. Still, no dice.
Currently, the Vikings are working through their own corner turmoil. Byron Murphy has missed a pair of games and the secondary has had some major struggles. The Packers game, in particular, was stunningly bad. Green Bay receivers were as open as receivers will ever get in the NFL; it happened with such frequency that the problem in Minnesota clearly extended beyond just talent deficiencies into mental mistakes and missed assignments.
Even still, Cameron Dantzler won’t be returning to Minnesota.
The 25-year-old defensive back is sitting on 37 games and 26 starts in his NFL career. And while he’s only been around for four seasons, Dantzler has picked up the kind of NFL mileage that would elude most players after just four seasons. He has seen a ton.
Expect another team to give him a shot before too long.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
