The Minnesota Vikings decided to waive CB Cam Dantzler late last week to save cap space for this week’s opening of free agency. And now, on the first day of the negotiating period, Washington commanders have given Dantzler his resignation.
Dantzler, the Vikings’ third-round pick in 2020, emerged in his rookie year as a player forced into a starring role after Minnesota suffered a series of injuries in their secondary. During 2020, he started 10 games and appeared in 11 for the Vikings, recording 46 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 4 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
2021 was a down year for CBA, and he seemed to drift a bit during the season with head coach Mike Zimmer. He started just seven games that season, recording 53 tackles, 8 passes defensed and a forced fumble.
After Zimmer left, Dantzler was ready to return to the starting lineup in 2022, and he did so early in the season, but an ankle injury against the same Commander landed him on injured reserve midway through the season.
He missed four games with the injury, and in his first start off IR, he gave up two touchdowns in Minnesota’s loss to the Detroit Lions. Dantzler did not start again for the Vikings after that, opening the possibility that he could be off the roster after the season ends.
In Washington, Dantzler joins a secondary that includes Kendall Fuller, Danny Johnson, Benjamin St-Just, Tariq Castro-Fields, Christian Holmes and DaMarcus Fields. Meanwhile, the Vikings continue to search for depth in their secondary, which is very short on veteran presence without Dantzler and the recent departure of Patrick Peterson in free agency.
Josh Frey is a 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a BA in Creative Writing.. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, playing or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account. @Freyed_Chicken.