Mike Zimmer has never been one to hold back from what’s on his mind. Whether it’s berating special teams coaches on Monday Night Football or conducting halftime interviews during preseason openers, you don’t have to ask the Minnesota Vikings’ headman twice to tell it like it is.
Zimmer’s unfiltered transparency has been on full display regarding the vaccination status of his football team. Whether Zimmer’s conviction on the matter is rooted in his unwavering trust in the medical community or simply the understanding that more unvaccinated players on his roster present a more substantial competitive disadvantage remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Zimmer has been nothing but candid about where he stands on the issue.
Last week I wrote about the Marquee Unvaccinated Three — Kirk Cousins, Harrison Smith, and Adam Thielen. Being that the Minnesota Vikings cannot act like the United States military and require vaccination of their players, what can Zimmer and the organization realistically do to set a tone and bring about a culture shift on vaccinations within the locker room?
Once players receive the “distraction” label, it’s typically only a matter of time until they’re no longer employed by that particular NFL team. Unless, in this particular case, all three players donning the new distraction label are viewed as irreplaceable individual contributors in this critically important make-or-break season for Zimmer and Rick Spielman.
Still, the question remains: If the organization wants to take control and send a message on vaccinations, who’s most expendable of the Marquee Unvaccinated Three?
Regardless of where you fall on the Kirky spectrum, the Vikings would be punching their tickets to Tanksville if they decided to move on from Cousins and hand the reins over to rookie Kellen Mond. While a Cousins trade would save them $21 million in cap space with a $10 million dead cap both this season and next, good luck finding a dance partner this late in the game. And to simply cut Cousins would incur a $66 million dead cap this season and an additional $10 million dead cap next year.
Translation: Kirk is untouchable right now.
So is the One of Us golden boy, Thielen. Moving on from Thielen at this juncture would divide the fanbase even more than the division that exists today between Rural America vs. Metropolitan America. Not to mention, a Thielen trade or release would bring with a $15 million-plus dead cap over the next two seasons.
This brings us to Smith. At age 32, the longest-tenured Viking is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. Smith recorded his second-worst PFF grade (74.3) of his career last year. With critical players such as Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, and Michael Pierce essentially missing the entire season, much was asked of Harry the Hitman last year.
The results were an abomination. With Smith playing every game last year, the Vikings defense ranked 29th in points allowed, 27th in yards allowed, and 25th in passing yards allowed. When the Vikings needed Smith most with so many critical players down last year, he failed to provide a winning impact for the undermanned defense.
With Smith entering the final year of his contract, moving on from the unvaccinated safety would come at no expense of the dead cap, whether it be through trade or release. In fact, the Vikings would save $10.25 million in cap room by having Smith serve as the sacrificial tone-setter should Zimmer deem it necessary.
And to be perfectly clear, I’m by no means suggesting or expecting the Vikings to cut or trade Smith. However, if this vaccination status continues to be a storyline throughout the season and they feel the need to get ahold of it, there is only one marquee player who could realistically be shown the door because of it.
And that individual is the longest-tenured player in that locker room. Should the organization deem it necessary to send a message that Zimmer isn’t messing around when it comes to vaccinations, Smith is the one that makes the most sense.
