The Vikings made significant acquisitions this offseason to build on last season’s success.
Since their playoff defeat to the other York Giants last January, the Minnesota Vikings’ roster has experienced considerable changes, with several players who had become household names moving on to other possibilities. As the 64th season of Vikings football begins and the search for the first Super Bowl win continues, we’ll take a quick look back at all of the changes and what they could mean for the club this season.
Key Departures
- RB Dalvin Cook
- DC Ed Donatell
- CB Cameron Dantzler
- LB Eric Kendricks (Chargers)
- CB Patrick Peterson (Steelers)
- CB Duke Shelley (Raiders)
- Edge Za’Darius Smith (Browns)
- TE Irv Smith Jr. (Bengals)
- CB Chandon Sullivan
- WR Adam Thielen (Panthers)
- DT Dalvin Tomlinson (Browns)
Yes, the Vikings have seen quite a few exits in recent months. Many of the departures occurred on the Vikings’ defence, which struggled last season. Donatell was sacked after just one season in Minnesota for operating a defence with guys that were not suited to his scheme and generally refusing to shift, but we’ll go into that transition more later.
The Vikings also released the four guys who played the most snaps at cornerback for them last season, all of whom are mentioned above. That means they’ll be depending heavily on young players at that position, as well as those who struggled to stay healthy last season.
Kendricks, while good, had definitely lost a step from his performance a few seasons before and left for a chance to play closer to home. The Vikings’ greatest loss will most certainly be Tomlinson, who was one of the defense’s bright spots this season but proved too pricey for the Vikings to finance. The departure of Za’Darius Smith might also be important, despite the fact that he sort of vanished in the second half of the 2022 season and decided he didn’t want to be back in Minnesota, being traded to Cleveland for a handful of draft picks.
A couple key offensive players also moved on. The narrative of Adam Thielen and his $500 scholarship will now be repeated during Carolina games, while Irv Smith Jr. moved on to Cincinnati after a couple of injury-plagued seasons, never quite delivering the potential he brought as a second-round draft selection. The most notable example was running back Dalvin Cook, who was released in June after refusing to accept a wage reduction in order to stay in Minnesota or negotiate a trade to another club. He was still unsigned at the time this article was written.
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