Since the extension of the 2002 collective bargaining agreement, the NFL has been giving away a yearly performance-based pay bonus to players as a way to get more money to players on lower-valued contracts. This is separate from any incentives that exist in a contract and often impact guys on vet minimum or rookie deals.
This year, each NFL team had $8.5 million allocated to this budget, and earlier this week, the payouts were announced for the last season.
When you think about who struck gold via this system, your head might go to a Tyler Conklin, who played meaningful snaps and even registered 19 receptions. Or maybe you’d go to the defensive side of the ball and go with Jaleel Johnson, who was one of the better defensive linemen for Mike Zimmer — which isn’t saying much. Those would be pretty reasonable answers, right?
Well, not exactly, because the leader in the performance-based pay clubhouse was none other than Dakota Dozier.
The same guy who finished as the worst pass-blocking guard in the league according to PFF raked in $561,951. So how did Dozier, who was quite literally among the worst at his position in the entire league, lead the team in a bonus determined by on-field performance?
In short, it’s because the Vikings neglected the offensive line when constructing the roster. On paper, Dozier started all 16 games and thus was rewarded for doing so. Credit to the “Bull Dozier” for securing the bag, but this is truly a head-scratcher.
You have to remember Dozier was a career backup before last year. Yet Rick Spielman was completely fine thrusting him in as sixth on the depth chart on the line. When Pat Elflein went down in October, Dozier instantly became the starter.
The even funnier thing is that when Elflein was activated off injured reserve, Spielman ended up releasing him, essentially saying they were content with the play of Dozier. Admittedly Elflein wouldn’t have been that much of an upgrade, but he certainly would have been a bit better. Case in point: The Carolina Panthers signed Elflein to a 3-year, $13.5 million contract this offseason.
But maybe all of this scrutiny headed Dozier’s direction isn’t completely fair. At his core, he’s a depth guard on any NFL team. For whatever reason, Spielman thought it would be acceptable to trot an offensive lineman making league minimum out there for 16 games. Hell, Dozier deserves that $500k check just for enduring Vikings Twitter for a full year.
Needless to say, having someone of Dozier’s quality is a nightmarish situation for any team to be in. The even scarier outcome would be if the GM of a team willingly signed up for that situation once again.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened.
The Vikings signed up for the whole Bull Dozier experience once again, and as the roster is situated, he’ll be the odds-on favorite to collect the top “performance” based pay next season. It seems hard to believe that lightning would strike twice in this situation. Surely Spielman has taken a history class or two in life. In fact, come to think of it, he did trade for a lineman this offseason.
How could I have forgotten about the Mason Cole deal that had the whole fanbase buzzing with excitement? Spielman probably saw he had a problem on his hands with Dozier slotted in as a starter again, so he decided to get him some competition in Cole, who also finished as one of the worst pass-blocking guards last season.
It’s truly mind-boggling to think about the options the Vikings’ have for the left guard position. This discussion could all dwindle weeks from now if Spielman addresses the issue in the draft, but I certainly wouldn’t bank on it. Yes, this draft class has many offensive lineman options, but as we’ve seen in past drafts, the Vikings don’t always go the most obvious direction. For every universe where Minnesota does go for an offensive lineman, Zimmer uses the recent controversy surrounding Jeff Gladney to draft a defensive back for the millionth year in a row.
Maybe this is just me being unnecessarily cynical, but this front office has a track record of emphasizing defense over offense.
Spielman has shown he is more than willing to roll out a bottom-tier offensive lineman for an entire year, and after re-upping on Dozier’s contract, there’s no reason he couldn’t do it again.
I’m not saying this will be the case, and we’re all doomed, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a year from now we’re asking the same question of how Dozier raked in the most performance-based pay on the team.
