Tag: Za’Darius Smith

Vikings could move Za’Darius Smith during NFL draft

With only one selection on day two of the 2023 NFL Draft, there are rumblings that the Minnesota Vikings could trade Za’Darius Smith.

The Minnesota Vikings made a splash in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft by selecting USC wide receiver Jordan Addison. With Day 2 on Friday night, they could be making an even bigger splash.

According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Vikings are a team to keep an eye on, as they could move edge rusher Za’Darius Smith.

Keep an eye on what Minnesota may do with outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith. He still has two more years on his deal and is set to count $15.49 million against the cap this season. There are some rumblings the Vikings could move him.

This shouldn’t come as a big surprise, especially after Minnesota signed Marcus Davenport on the first day of the offseason. The Vikings could save $12.16 million against the salary cap by trading Smith and only $7.16 million if they release him.

With the Vikings set to only have one selection on Day 2 at pick No. 87, moving Smith could net them at least one more selection.

Lukas Van Ness can fill complementary Za’Darius Smith-type role in Packers defense

The Packers envision Lukas Van Ness being an inside-outside pass-rusher, similar to Za’Darius Smith.

Lukas Van Ness accumulated just two years of playing time during his time at Iowa and was never actually an official starter, although he did total nearly 1,000 total snaps in that span. But despite the overall lack of experience, general manager Brian Gutekunst did say that Van Ness will see immediate playing time as a rookie and could fill a similar role to that of Za’Darius Smith when he was with the Green Bay Packers.

One of the more intriguing aspects of Van Ness’ game is his ability to play inside. He began his career at Iowa as an interior defender before spending the bulk of his time lined up outside in 2022. However, the majority of his career snaps at Iowa did come in between the tackles.

The Packers plan to take advantage of Van Ness’ versatility, similarly to what they did with Smith. During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Smith played just under 200 snaps lined up inside. During his final season with Baltimore in 2018, he had nearly 300 snaps away from the traditional edge rusher alignment.

In most instances with Green Bay, Smith was used in this capacity on obvious passing downs and as a stand-up pass rusher to help get after the quarterback. He would go on to record 164 pressure and 32 sacks during that span.

“He’s a very versatile player, which was important to us,” said Gutkeunst of Van Ness. “He’s a different player than Z was, but he is going to be able to do a lot of the same things as far as we used to move Z inside and rushing. I think his best football is ahead of him. He’s a guy that’s going to move inside and out.”

Both Van Ness and Smith have bigger frames, which the Packers do covet at edge rusher, with Van Ness measuring in at 6-5 and 272 pounds while Smith stood 6-4 and 274 pounds coming out of Kentucky. However, as Gutekunst mentioned, they are different players, and where that is most noticeable in their athletic testing is the speed and agility drills. Van Ness posted elite testing numbers across the board, while Smith did not. Van Ness also has longer arms.

From a measurables standpoint, Van Ness is closer to Rashan Gary, but he comes to the NFL with more experience lining up inside. At Michigan, Gary played roughly 10% of his career snaps along the interior. At the NFL level, he has rarely been used in that role. Although both are terrific athletes, Van Ness can bring a complementary skill set to the Packers’ edge rusher position that they didn’t have in 2022 without Smith. Neither Gary nor Preston Smith have been moved inside all that often.

“They’re a little bit different player, a little bit different body type,” said Gutekunst. “They’re measurables do add up. He’s had a little bit more exposure inside rushing than Rashan did. But they’re both big, fast, powerful long athletes, and I think they’ll complement each other well, along with Preston.”

With Van Ness taking some snaps inside, not only does his presence bolster the edge rusher depth, but he also can provide some needed juice to the interior defensive line position on passing downs. This is a group that is currently short on depth along with experience and has to find a way to be more consistent this season.

One of the quickest ways for this Packers’ defense as a whole to improve is with better play in the trenches. It’s not a coincidence that when the group upfront was at its best in the final weeks of 2022, so was the entire defensive unit. Last season, Green Bay ranked 23rd in total pressures and 28th in yards per carry.

Van Ness will primarily line up at edge rusher from the sounds of it, but he brings some added versatility back to the Packers’ edge rusher room.

“As has been noted throughout this process, I’m a very power-oriented rusher,” said Van Ness. “I feel like using my length to separate from offensive linemen while associated with my power can be very dangerous.“

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Teams that trade for Dalvin Cook or Za’Darius Smith would get a salary cap perk

The Minnesota Vikings could be working on trading two of their top-paid players and the teams acquiring thme can benefit in one major way.

It feels like a surprise that both running back Dalvin Cook and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith are still on the Minnesota Vikings roster. They are currently taking up a total of $29.6 million against the salary cap, according to Over The Cap.

When looking at why the Vikings have kept both of them, there is one theory that makes sense: General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is looking to trade them.

Could he already have deals in place for the draft? Absolutely. A year ago, Adofo-Mensah had the first-round trade pre-negotiated with the Detroit Lions if the board fell the right way.

Trading Cook or Smith would make sense, especially with such a varied running back class and a top-heavy edge group.

Any team that would trade for both players would have a major benefit: Neither would dead money if released after the 2023 season.

For a team that is set to make a run for a title this year, that’s a very attractive part of the deal. The Vikings can also restructure the contract of either and eat a little bit of that cap space to make the salary cap hit more palatable.

Even though the Vikings are low against the cap, adding a few extra million to their potential dead cap to get a draft pick or two back is a cost that Adofo-Mensah likely feels comfortable with. It’s kind of like buying a draft pick, but that’s a move that we’ve seen before.

With a team that only has five draft picks, it’s something to watch for.

Vikings’ biggest question at each defensive position ahead of 2023 NFL draft

The Minnesota Vikings have done a really good job at fortifying their defense, but major questions still exist in each position group.

The Minnesota Vikings have only a few major needs left going into the NFL draft. They have added quite a few free agents to the team and re-signed other players to fortify the roster.

The moves that they made have both set up the Vikings to be more fluid in the draft by taking best player available while also raising more questions about the different position groups.

Going into the NFL draft, here are the biggest questions for each position group on defense.

Ranking the 5 biggest remaining needs on the Vikings roster

The Minnesota Vikings have done a good job fortifying their roster this offseason, but there are still needs that should be addressed.

After 10 days of free agency, the Minnesota Vikings are suring up their roster by filling the holes on the roster. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been doing it so that when the NFL draft comes around, the Vikings will have the ability to truly focus on best player available.

Even though they have filled a lot of their holes and made a lot of impact in making the roster better, they don’t have a completely clean roster yet. There are still a few needs that should be addressed.

Here are the five biggest needs on the roster currently.

What doest the Harrison Smith pay cut mean for Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Cook?

Harrison Smith agreed to a pay cut earlier on Thursday morning. What does that mean for Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Cook?

The Minnesota Vikings made some waves on Thursday morning by agreeing to a pay cut with safety Harrison Smith. The move will save nearly $7 million against the salary cap. Most importantly, they kept one of the best safeties in the game for only a projected $680k more than what they would have saved by cutting him.

With the Vikings needing to clear out cap space, Harrison Smith wasn’t the only veteran rumored to be cut. His teammates Za’Darius Smith and Dalvin Cook are both rumored to be on the chopping block as well, but for different reasons. Does this move impact them at all?

Not in the slightest.

Wanting Harrison Smith to take a pay cut was a separate issue from what the Vikings were dealing with in terms of both Za’Darius Smith and Cook.

Za’Darius Smith wanted a raise based on his production from last year but the Vikings weren’t budging, likely due to his age at 31. He then tweeted out a thank you to the Vikings’ fanbase and organization and we have been in limbo ever since. With the signing of Marcus Davenport, it feels likely that Smith is gone, but you never know.

[lawrence-related id=74601]

Cook on the other hand is a different. The Vikings can only save $5.8 million on the salary cap by releasing him. They did just sign Alexander Mattison to a two-year, $7 million contract on Wednesday which clouds the future of Cook.

[lawrence-related id=74825]

There have been trade offers out there for Cook, but nothing has been enough for the Vikings to take the offer and save an extra $2 million on the salary cap, as his shoulder surgery in February guaranteed that amount.

What will the Vikings end up doing? They have to make a decision on both players by 3 pm on Friday, March 17th as Za’Darius Smith ($5 million) and Cook ($2 million) each have guarantees that vest at that time. I would personally expect both players to be released or traded by that time, but you never know how this front office will handle things.

What the Marcus Davenport signing means for the Vikings

What does new edge rusher Marcus Davenport bring to the Vikings? @TheKevinFielder breaks it down

The Minnesota Vikings waited until the dead of night to make their second free agent signing of the day.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Vikings have agreed to terms with edge rusher Marcus Davenport. The deal is rumored to be $13 million for one season.

Davenport, who turns 27 in September, is a former first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints. Last season, he was used strictly as a pass rusher for the Saints but finished with just 0.5 sacks in 15 games.

Davenport is the second signing by the Vikings since the legal tampering period opened on Monday. In the afternoon, the Vikings agreed to terms with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Josh Oliver on a three-year contract.

Here is how Davenport fits the Minnesota Vikings’ defense.

Twitter Reacts to the Vikings signing Marcus Davenport

The Minnesota Vikings made a splash move Monday evening by agreeing to a deal with Marcus Davenport, see how twitter responded to the move.

Minnesota Vikings fans are abuzz with excitement after the team made a big move in the NFL’s legal tampering period, agreeing to a deal with edge rusher Marcus Davenport. The addition of Davenport to the Vikings’ defense could mean big things for the team, potentially allowing them to move on from veteran Za’Darius Smith.

As fans eagerly anticipate the upcoming NFL season, many are eager to see how Davenport will perform in purple and gold and what impact he will have on the team’s quest for a championship. Let’s take a look at some of the excitement from fans and analysts on Twitter.

Vikings radio announcer proposes wild trade with Texans

On his KFAN radio show, Paul Allen proposed an ambitious trade with the Houston Texans

You know it’s peak offseason when trade proposals are bandied about. On his radio show on 100.3 KFAN on Friday, the voice of the Minnesota Vikings Paul Allen proposed an ambitious trade with the Houston Texans which would send quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Texans.

Let’s break this down. First off, this is just speculation, but it brings an interesting idea. The Vikings are looking like a potential contender to move up for a quarterback in the first round and this is one way to get that done. You would need Cousins to waive his no-trade clause, but with the offense being familiar, it is possible.

Now, is the trade fair or could actually happen? Absolutely not. Cousins is entering his age 35 season and Za’Darius Smith (the aforementioned Z) is entering his age 32 season. That’s not something that the Texans, who are rebuilding and have a chance at a top quarterback, would end up agreeing to. Plus, the two players involved in this trade and pick 23 wouldn’t bring pick two back by themselves let alone also getting 12.

What is fun about this is hypothesizing a potential move up for the Vikings, something columnist Matt Anderson conjured up in his latest seven-round mock draft.

[lawrence-related id=74270]

Could Vikings and Za’Darius Smith be headed for a trade?

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggests a trade as a potential solution for Minnesota Vikings and Za’Darius Smith

The Minnesota Vikings and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith appear to be at an impasse after the star player requested his release from the team on Thursday. On Friday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport suggested that maybe a trade is a way to resolve their differences.

The Vikings signed Smith to a three-year, $42 million contract last offseason, with a potential out for the Vikings after year one if Smith didn’t perform.

As for Smith, he put together a solid season by racking up 10 sacks on 78 pressures per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, the Vikings have Smith locked up in a deal that ranks him 20th in the NFL among pass rushers.

While it has been stated that the Vikings have no intention of granting Smith his release, Rapoport’s suggestion of a trade could be the best way for both sides to achieve what they want.

By moving Smith in a trade, the Vikings get the same salary cap relief of $12.16 million as well as draft capital. As for Smith, he gets to go to a new team and potentially sign a new extension. Time will tell how this plays out, but one thing seems clear: Smith likely won’t be playing for the Vikings on his current contract this fall.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6p1-HdiWw]