Minnesota Poaches Pro Bowl Pass Rusher Za'Darius Smith From Dallas, Green Bay, and Baltimore
Vikings bolster their pass rush by adding Za'Darius Smith.
FINALLY. Finally, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has made a big time free agent signing. The Vikings have just signed former Ravens and Packers pass rusher Za’Darius Smith to a 3 year, 47 million dollar deal. Dallas and Baltimore were in contention to sign the Pro Bowl pass rusher and he had originally worked out a deal on March 16th with the Ravens for 4 years, 35 million dollars, but when he saw Von Miller get 6 years, 120 million from Buffalo he backed out of the deal.
Smith has been with the Packers for 3 seasons, 2019-2021, and accumulated 108 tackles, 26 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles over 33 games. He also received two Pro Bowl nods in 2019 and 2020 and was named Second Team All Pro in 2020.
Last season, the Kentucky alum spent the majority of his time on injured reserve due to a nagging back injury. He played in one regular season game and one playoff game tallying 2 tackles and 1 sack.
I was absolutely elated to read about the signing of Smith, and so were many other fans from SKOL Nation.
And then there were the two toxic fan bases that Smith pissed off by signing with the Vikings; the Packers and Ravens fans. Some wished him a farewell, other were scummy enough to hope that the pass rusher who served their franchise tears his ACL. I’m a passionate fan of the Vikings, but I have and never would wish for Aaron Rodgers or Justin Fields to get hurt. That’s just bush league fandom.
I have no respect for fans like the ones above. Just lowlife scumbags.
Smith met with the Vikings yesterday and dropped subtle Easter eggs that a deal was close to being done between Smith and his former division rivals. He liked a tweet from a Vikings fan account that read “Purple people eaters are back babyyyyy”.
The Vikings new linebacker also tweeted out “Meet Me At The Quarterback”, which was the motto of the Vikings once dominant defensive line, the Purple People Eaters.
Minnesotas upgraded front seven, when healthy, has the talent to be the best in the league and drive offensive coordinators crazy. In 2022, they’ll have a defensive line consisting off meaty run stuffers like Harrison Phillips, Dalvin Tomlinson, Armon Watts, James Lynch coupled with edge rushers Za’Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, and Kenny Willekes. SCARY.
The NFC North is ripe for a hostile takeover and the revamped Vikings with new free agent signings of Smith, linebacker Jordan Hicks, and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips can elevate them to division champs.
Now while I’ve been yammering on about the defense, don’t forget about the elite offense the Vikings have. A top three running back in Dalvin Cook, a top three receiving duo in Jefferson and Thielen, and a dark horse MVP candidate at quarterback in Kirk Cousins.
Things just got real exciting in the Twin City.