Inside The Vikings

Mike Zimmer Says He'll Talk to Cameron Dantzler About Postgame Tweets

Dantzler probably should've stayed off social media after the Vikings' Week 3 win.

Will Ragatz

Less than 30 minutes after the final seconds had expired on the Vikings' first victory of the 2021 season, cornerback Cameron Dantzler fired off an eye-raising tweet.

"I'm tired of biting my tongue about this whole situation [for real]..." Dantzler wrote. Given the timing of the tweet and the context of his situation this year — Dantzler didn't play a single defensive snap against the Seahawks — one can assume what the cryptic post was referring to.

He then said the original tweet wasn't about football, but rather his "normal life," before deleting both posts.

Finally, he settled on a more celebratory tone.

On Monday, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about Dantzler's tweets and if he was going to have a conversation with him about them.

"He will be talked to, yes," Zimmer said.

Dantzler experienced a major fall this offseason after a promising rookie year, going from being penciled in as a starting cornerback to being a healthy scratch in Week 1. I wrote about that in detail a couple weeks ago. He seemed to respond well to the wake-up call, improving his play in practice and getting an opportunity in Week 2 when Bashaud Breeland got hurt late in the game. Dantzler played well with that chance, and given Breeland's severe struggles this season, there was (and still is) a case to be made for a change at corner.

Breeland was out there again on Sunday and his rough season continued. If Dantzler just kept working hard in practice and avoided any controversy, his opportunity would've likely come.

Now, you have to wonder if Dantzler's tweets have hurt his chances to see the field. At the end of the day, the Vikings are going to play the guy who gives them the best chance to win, so he could certainly still get into games soon. But tweeting stuff like that after a huge victory — and I'm not exactly buying the explanation that they weren't about frustration with his role on the team — might speak to a broader attitude problem that has kept Dantzler off the field this year. Zimmer made a notable comment earlier this month when asked about Dantzler, saying he needs to play special teams if he wants to get out there.

It has to be more than just his play on the field that has gotten Dantzler into Zimmer's doghouse, and stuff like this doesn't help. I can't imagine that meeting with Zimmer is going to be a pleasant one for Dantzler.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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