DAILY CLIPS

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2018 LOCAL NEWS: Sunday, September 2, 2018

Pioneer Press

Charley Walters: Vikings still need some O line help By Charley Walters https://www.twincities.com/2018/09/01/charley-walters-vikings-still-need-some-o-line-help/

Vikings get younger with Brian Robison release, Terence Newman retirement By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/09/01/vikings-get-younger-with-brian-robison-release-terence-newman-retirement/

Vikings center Pat Eflein returns to practice Sunday, expected out Week 1 By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2018/09/01/vikings-center-pat-eflein-returns-to-practice-sunday-expected-out-week-1/

Star Tribune

Terence Newman retires as player, will take up coaching with Vikings By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/terence-newman-retires-as-player-will-take-up-coaching-with-vikings/492262361/

Vikings release veteran Brian Robison after 11 seasons By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/vikings-release-veteran-defensive-end-brian-robison-after-11-seasons/492256411/

Kirk Cousins: Under Pressure By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/vikings-season-preview-2018-kirk-cousins-pressure-expectations-super-bowl/491029261/

Inside pressure: Upgraded interior push could create a nastier Vikings defense By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/richardson-s-interior-push-could-create-a-nastier-vikings-defense/491029381/

Kyle Rudolph's path to stardom a more conventional one for Vikings By Sid Hartman http://www.startribune.com/kyle-rudolph-s-path-to-stardom-a-more-conventional-one-for-vikings/492268611/

Bears' trade for Khalil Mack throws another hurdle in front of Vikings By Jim Souhan http://www.startribune.com/bears-trade-for-khalil-mack-throws-another-hurdle-in-front-of-vikings/492269801/

2018 expectations for Vikings call to mind the failure of 1972 By Mark Craig http://www.startribune.com/2018-expectations-for-vikings-call-to-mind-the-failure-of-1972/492263011/

Dalvin Cook: 'It's time for everybody to just watch me play football' By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/dalvin-cook-it-s-time-for-everybody-to-just-watch-me-play-football/492262951/

Kirk Cousins' 'brain coach' helps him cope with pressure, sleep and stay in a 'flow state' By Chris Hine http://www.startribune.com/kirk-cousins-brain-coach-helps-him-cope-with-pressure-sleep-and-stay-in-a-flow-state/492262991/

In NFL where injuries are inevitable, Vikings' depth matters as much as their ample star power By Chip Scoggins http://www.startribune.com/in-nfl-where-injuries-are-inevitable-vikings-depth-matters-as-much-as-their-ample-star- power/492262961/

It's Stefon Diggs' year as Vikings' most talented, highest-paid and most frequently-targeted receiver By Jim Souhan http://www.startribune.com/it-s-stefon-diggs-year-as-vikings-most-talented-highest-paid-and-most-frequently-targeted- receiver/492263381/

Pressure builds for a Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen repeat as NFL's best deep-threat tandem By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/pressure-builds-for-a-stefon-diggs-adam-thielen-repeat-as-nfl-s-best-deep-threat-tandem/492262971/

Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson must channel the good Blair Walsh By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/vikings-kicker-daniel-carlson-must-channel-the-good-blair-walsh/492262921/

Vikings secondary, have one option — adjust or fall prey again to run-pass option threat By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/vikings-secondary-linebackers-have-one-option-adjust-or-fall-prey-again-to-run-pass-option- threat/492262941/

Take a look at the Vikings' initial 53-man roster By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/take-a-look-at-the-vikings-initial-53-man-roster/492267291/

Boiling points for the Vikings offense in 2018 By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/vikings-offense-boiling-points-for-2018/492262781/

Boiling points for the Vikings defense in 2018 By Andrew Krammer http://www.startribune.com/boiling-points-for-the-vikings-defense-in-2018/492262741/

Vikings activate from PUP list By Ben Goessling http://www.startribune.com/source-pat-elflein-will-be-activated-off-pup/492255981/

VIKING UPDATE

Pat Elflein set to return to practice By Tim Yotter https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/Article/Pat-Elflein-set-to-return-to-practice-121269304/

1500 ESPN

A look at undrafted CB Holton Hill’s journey to the Vikings’ roster By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/09/meet-holton-hill-interesting-player-vikings-camp/

Zulgad’s 3-and-out: Will Vikings take opportunity to upgrade at kicker? By Judd Zulgad http://www.1500espn.com/news/2018/09/zulgads-3-will-vikings-take-opportunity-upgrade-kicker/

With final cuts in, here is the ’ depth chart By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/news/2018/09/final-cuts-minnesota-vikings-depth-chart/

Vikings’ decisions at receiver center on Treadwell’s growth By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/09/vikings-decisions-receiver-center-treadwells-growth/

What Brian Robison’s release says about the Vikings’ D-line depth By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/09/brian-robisons-release-says-vikings-d-line-depth/

Vikings cut veteran defensive end Brian Robison By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/09/report-vikings-cut-de-brian-robison/

Terence Newman announces retirement, will join Vikings’ coaching staff By Matthew Coller http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/09/terence-newman-announces-retirement-will-join-vikings-coaching-staff/

The Athletic

Farewell, familiar faces: Breaking down the Vikings’ most notable roster moves By Arif Hasan https://theathletic.com/500704/2018/09/01/vikings-53-man-roster-moves-brian-robison-terence-newman-chad-beebe-brandon- zylstra-mike-boone-roc-thomas/

Vikings’ 53-man roster: Brian Robison released, Terence Newman retires By Zack Pierce https://theathletic.com/500648/2018/09/01/vikings-53-man-roster-brian-robison-chad-beebe-cuts-released-waived/

NATIONAL NEWS: Sunday, September 2, 2018

ESPN

Vikings activate Pat Elflein off PUP, cut DE Brian Robison By Courtney Cronin http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/26977/vikings-activate-pat-elflein-off-pup-cut-de-brian-robison

Vikings release DE Brian Robison; CB Terence Newman retires By Courtney Cronin http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24545469/minnesota-vikings-release-brian-robison-terence-newman-retires

USA TODAY

Vikings release DE Robison, add retiring CB Newman as coach By AP https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/09/01/vikings-release-11th-year-de-robison-with-60-career-sacks/37689785/

NFL.com

Terence Newman retires, joins Vikings coaching staff By Herbie Teope http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000957629/article/terence-newman-retires-joins-vikings-coaching-staff

Vikings releasing 12-year veteran Brian Robison By Chris Wesseling http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000957591/article/vikings-releasing-12year-veteran-brian-robison

PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 9/2/18

Charley Walters: Vikings still need some O line help

By Charley Walters

Despite last week’s trade with the for center Brett Jones, a trade for another offensive lineman by the Minnesota Vikings by Tuesday doesn’t seem out of the question.

If the Vikings have a position surplus, it’s defensive backs. That could make cornerback Mackensie Alexander or even safety Andrew Sendejo expendable for a reliable left guard. The Vikings’ recent acquisition of safety George Iloka, and how he’s used, remains intriguing.

The ’ chances against the Vikings improved dramatically on Saturday with their acquisition of pass rusher Khalil Mack from the Oakland Raiders.

With Jimmy Garoppolo at QB, the 49ers, who the Vikings open the regular season against next Sunday, no longer are a doormat. Minnesota will be favored, especially because the game is in Minneapolis. But the Vikings can’t afford to be flat.

Fifty-five million dollars: Total salaries this season for QBs Kirk Cousins ($28 million) of the Vikings and Garoppolo ($27 million).

The exhibition season provided no indication of ’s reliability after major knee surgery a year ago.

It’s a good bet that Bill Parcells had influence in ex-Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater’s trade last week by the to New Orleans. The hall of fame coach is very close to Saints coach Sean Payton, as well as Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, and is a big fan of Bridgewater.

The Packers extended ’ contract for $134 million despite the future hall of fame QB having suffered broken collar bones twice in the past five seasons.

The way it looks now, the Vikings will finish the regular season 10-6, same as the Packers. That makes Minnesota’s second game, a week from Sunday in Green Bay, monumental.

Going into the 49ers game, the Vikings have the No. 1 defense in the NFL, USAToday.com says. The 49ers rank No. 12. The Packers are No. 19.

Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and defensive coordinator George Edwards are among seven NFL coordinators who could be in discussion for head coaching jobs at the end of the season, SI.com surmises.

Since his trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers five weeks ago, Brian Dozier in 27 games is batting .227, exactly the same as he hit with the Twins in 104 games.

Since his trade to the Diamondbacks five weeks ago, Eduardo Escobar is hitting .282 in 29 games; he hit .274 in 97 games for the Twins.

Kid to watch: Cretin-Derham Hall freshman point guard Tre Holloman, 14, last week received an invitation to the USA Basketball Junior National team mini-camp in Colorado Springs next month. The USA camp is endorsed by the NBA, NCAA and NBA Players Association.

Holloman, 6 feet 1 and 160 pounds, also was invited to the John Lucas high school elite camp in Houston this month and already has received a letter of interest from Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

Holloman, also a QB-safety for Cretin-Derham’s freshman football team, on Monday will work out with the varsity as a safety.

Jack Yary, 16, a 6-6, 245-pound junior tight end at Murrieta (Calif.) Valley High School and son of hall of fame former Vikings offensive tackle Ron Yary, already has a scholarship offer from dad’s alma mater, Southern California. He also plays slot back and defensive end.

If the USC offer holds up, that’s where he’ll probably go.

It would be a classy move by the Vikings to add uniform patches this season to honor gravely ill beloved trainer emeritus Fred Zamberletti, 86.

The Eagan-Farmington high school football game at the Vikings’ facility on Sept. 28 will be Eagan’s homecoming and is expected to draw a crowd in excess of 5,500.

Justin Conzemius, the former Gophers football captain, for a 20th season is providing analysis of his alma mater on KFAN-FM. Meanwhile, he’s in his 17th year working for General Mills as marketing director for Fruit and Salty Snacks. Oldest son Cade is a freshman wideout at Minnetonka.

New Gophers women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen will speak at an Alumni Association football homecoming event Oct. 6 at McNamara Alumni Center. Tickets are $15 and $20.

There is a movement to sell out Williams Arena for Whalen’s first home game as coach on Nov. 9 against New Hampshire.

Nice to see Mike Tracy, the popular former Stillwater Country Club golf professional who underwent debilitating brain surgery two years ago, recovering well and playing five nine-hole rounds last week.

New U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Natalie Darwitz debuts as co-host of “Minnesota Prep Spotlight” on Sunday night on KSTC, Channel 45. Darwitz replaces another hockey icon, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, who has taken a position in admissions at Hill-Murray, where husband Johnny, the ex-Gophers hockey star, is a teacher.

Minikahda golf teaching pro Jeff Sorenson leads in points for Minnesota PGA Player of the Year.

St. Thomas Academy Athletic Hall of Fame class for induction on Sept. 21: Bill Ridley, Stephen Cronk, Thomas Knox, Daniel Leighton, Matt Brzica and Fritz Waldvogel.

Jeff Meslow couldn’t attend his induction into the Mahtomedi High School Sports Hall of Fame last Thursday because he was line judge for the Gophers-New Mexico football game that evening, so he had his mother, Karen, accept his award.

New assistant head football coach at Dakota College (Bottineau, N.D.) is Cretin-Derham Hall grad Freddie Weinke.

A film, “Scramblin’ Fran,” produced by the Southeastern Conference about ex-Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton’s years in college at Georgia, airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on the SEC Network.

Target Center will host the NCAA final four volleyball tournament — the Gophers currently rank No. 3 nationally — in December.

Condolences to the family of Peggy Kirsch, the former Duluth East-Duluth Central and Alabama golf star who died in a car crash at age 60 this summer. Peggy’s late mother, Shirley, was also a noted golfer whose wedding party included former Gophers Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith as best man.

Ex-Twin Kennys Vargas, with a team-leading 20 home runs and 19 doubles at Class AAA Rochester, last week was named to the International League’s postseason all-star team.

Arizona Sen. John McCain’s widow Cindy asked Holy Angels grad Larry Fitzgerald of the to speak at her husband’s memorial service in Phoenix last Thursday. He did so eloquently.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Rochester, Minn., is doing U.S. Open tennis analysis for ESPN while rehabbing from a major kneecap injury suffered while competing at Wimbledon.

That was four-time New Zealand Olympic marathoner and former Minneapolis resident Lorraine Moller handing out medals to finishers at the Women Rock races in downtown St. Paul last weekend.

MIAC football coaches, for the third straight season, have picked St. Thomas, with 14 returning starters, to win the conference championship. St. John’s was picked No. 2.

The last MIAC alumnus to play in a NFL regular season game was ex-St. Thomas safety Neal Guggemos with the Vikings and New York Giants (1986-88). Guggemos’ son Nick is a junior wideout for the Tommies.

Jim Peck, 78, in his 55th season of overseeing Excelsior American Legion baseball, enjoyed his 1,800th victory, over Laurel, Mont., in the Gopher Classic the other day.

Erudite Ed Cohen Sr., 86, a Harvard grad from St. Louis Park, has begun his 61st season on the Gophers’ football stats crew.

“It’s been enjoyable,” said Cohen, who on Friday attended the 69th reunion of his 1949 St. Louis Park High School class, of which he was president.

How long does Cohen intend to continue with the Gophers?

“Till I can’t,” he said.

That was the Vikings’ Scott Studwell among a half-dozen NFL scouts at the Gophers-New Mexico State game last Thursday.

The LPGA Tour’s Cheyenne Woods, 27, was at Hazeltine National recently to promote next June’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the Chaska course. She is sponsored by Nike, Bridgestone and Rolex, same as her uncle Tiger Woods, TeeTimesPress.com points out.

Twins pitcher Oliver Drake was a question on TV’s “Jeopardy” last week for having been with five major league teams this season.

Former St. Olaf men’s basketball coach and athletics director Bob Gelle died recently in Northfield at age 87.

DON’T PRINT THAT

Pssst: There’s more to the Jimmy Butler-Karl-Anthony Towns relationship than most people know, and it’s not encouraging for the Timberwolves.

The Gophers announced attendance of 41,291 for their opening 48-10 football victory over cupcake New Mexico State last Thursday. Meanwhile, a study of major college attendance by the Wall Street Journal shows that the average count of tickets scanned is just 71 percent of announced attendance, as noted by D1.ticker.

Brian Robison and Terence Newman, released by the Vikings on Saturday, each get to keep $90,000 of their $1.1 million contracts per signing bonuses.

One concern regarding Joe Mauer’s future with the Twins is that the club could decide that the 35-year-old won’t be around when it gets good again, so the franchise could move on without him.

New York Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. last week agreed to a reported $95 million, five-year contract extension. Vikings wideout Adam Thielen, who can become a free agent after the 2019 season, has got to be feeling good. The Vikings, just before training camp this year, could have signed him to an early extension.

Ex-Gophers wideout Eric Decker, 31, who retired from the New England Patriots the other day, struggled at times in training camp with dropped passes, ESPN.com points out. He leaves pro football after having made nearly $30 million over eight seasons.

Although he’s batting .237, outfielder Daniel Palka, 26, who the Twins released last November, has 19 home runs and 53 runs batted in for the Chicago White Sox this season. Those numbers would rank second on the Twins.

Washington Capitals star T.J. Oshie will make his Sunfish Lake home available to Vikings players, who train nearby in Eagan, but for the right price.

It still looks like Kansas for Rochester John Marshall’s 6-9 basketball star Matthew Hurt.

The Vikings have hired a GM for their Vikings Lakes Eagan complex: Kyle Chank, who was VP of operations for the Minnesota Super Bowl host committee. Besides Minnesota, Chank worked Super Bowls in San Francisco and Arizona.

For the first time in Minnesota, Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 19 will host USA Hockey’s All- American prospects game featuring the top 40 American prospects for June’s NHL entry draft. The game is expected to feature center Jack Hughes, 17, who despite his 5-10, 161 pounds and being from Orlando, Fla., is nearly certain to be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft.

Denoting both their Big Ten regular season and Big Ten tournament championships last spring, Gophers baseball players and staff will receive larger than average title rings designed by Minneapolis-based Jostens.

One parking lot near U.S. Bank Stadium for last week’s Vikings-Seahawks exhibition was charging $50. For the Gophers’ nonconference game against lowly New Mexico State, one parking lot near TCF Bank Stadium was charging $30.

An analysis of rivalry tweets by HomeArea.com showed Wisconsin has nearly twice as many as Minnesota.

By the way, the Gophers are 900-to-1 odds to win the national football championship, the Badgers 26-to-1, according to Bovada-Las Vegas.

The Badgers football team has installed napping pods for players in the locker room, ESPN points out.

It seems a cinch that former Danube High School star Bob Bruggers will be among electees for the next Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Vikings are in four of the NFL’s top 20 games expected to draw the biggest viewing audiences this season, according to Ad Age.

Hall of fame QB Joe Montana will speak in Winona on Saturday at the Morrie Miller Athletic Foundation banquet.

One facet of their first training camp in Eagan that the Vikings didn’t expect was the number of no-shows from free general admission online ticket holders. Still, attendance for the 17 days available to the public totaled about 63,000, comparable to what the team averaged when it trained in Mankato.

Makes sense: Reader Ed from St. Paul suggests that the NFL eliminate two meaningless preseason games, add two regular season games, and give every team two byes, beginning in Week 7.

“Everyone would make more money,” he said.

The four-star hotel and conference center to be built at the Vikings’ Eagan quarters will be 14 stories with more than 300 rooms.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are working with a potential sports health and wellness partner under a limited-term lease deal for their former Winter Park facility.

Cretin-Derham Hall grad Seantrel Henderson, 26, after intestine surgery, is playing for $4 million this season and expected to start at right offensive tackle for the against New England next Sunday, Sports Xchange reports.

OVERHEARD

Baseball hall of famer Dave Winfield, the St. Paul Central grad who never played in the minor leagues, speaking at a 50th reunion of his Attucks Brooks American Legion state champion teams: “I was drafted (out of high school) by the Baltimore Orioles (40th round). They said ‘have we got a job for you — $500 and a bus ride to Bluefield, West Virginia.’ I said ‘I don’t think so.’ ” PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings get younger with Brian Robison release, Terence Newman retirement

By Chris Tomasson

It wasn’t a good day to be an older player on the Vikings.

The Vikings on Saturday released defensive end Brian Robison, 35, after an 11-year run and cornerback Terence Newman announced his retirement three days shy of his 40th birthday. Newman will join Minnesota’s coaching staff in a role that has not yet been announced.

Robison had said he likely planned to retire after the season, but his Minnesota tenure will end earlier than he had expected. The Vikings, on the day NFL rosters had to be set at the 53-man regular-season limit, wanted to keep an additional young defensive lineman and the move gets Robison’s $1.105 million salary off the books.

“Sad Day!’’ Robison wrote on Twitter. “I love you Vikings fans, teammates, coaches and all I have come in contact with over the years. This one hurts, but it’s not goodbye. More like see you later. Thank you Vikings for 11 amazing years and one opportunity.”

Newman, who didn’t return a message seeking comment, played 15 NFL seasons, the last three with Minnesota. He had been on the verge of joining hall of famer Darrell Green as the second 40-year-old defensive back in league history. But Saturday’s move cleared the way for the Vikings to keep undrafted rookie cornerback Holton Hill.

The Vikings cut 20 other players Saturday, including , 28, another player let go in favor of youth. Among the five receivers to make the roster was Spicer native Brandon Zylstra, 25, a rookie who spent the past two years in the Canadian Football League.

The Vikings put Kentrell Brothers, who will miss the first four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, on the suspended list. And they took Pat Elflein off the physically unable to perform list. A source said Elflein, recovering from shoulder surgery, will return to practice Sunday but won’t be ready for the Sept. 9 regular-season opener against San Francisco.

Minnesota’s starting center in the opener is expected to be Brett Jones or . The Vikings on Saturday released Cornelius Edison, who started the first three preseason games.

Also let go Saturday were receivers Chad Beebe, Jeff Badet and Tavarres King; tight ends Blake Bell and Tyler Hoppes; running back ; offensive linemen Colby Gossett, Josh Andrews and Storm Norton; defensive linemen , Curtis Cothran and Jonathan Wynn; defensive backs Tray Matthews, Craig James, Horace Richardson and ; and linebackers Reshard Cliett and Garret Dooley.

King, Brown, Andrews, Matthews, James, Richardson were waived with injury designations.

Undrafted rookie running backs Mike Boone and Roc Thomas both made the roster. Boone’s inclusion was obvious after he led the Vikings with 195 preseason rushing yards. But the Vikings also didn’t want to part with Thomas, who had 131 yards from scrimmage in the preseason opener at Denver but later had injury issues.

The departures of Robison and Newman leave Minnesota’s oldest player as safety Andrew Sendejo, who turns 31 on Sept. 9. The Vikings only have three other players who are 30 in Marcus Sherels, Everson Griffen and Kirk Cousins.

With the departure of Robison, a fourth-round pick in 2007, Minnesota’s longest-tenured players are Griffen and Sherels, both rookies in 2010.

“Throughout our ownership of the Minnesota Vikings, players like Brian Robison have made our journey special,” owners Zygi and Mark Wilf wrote in a statement. “Brian meant as much to the community as he did to our football team. He is an exceptional person and always carries himself with such class and character.”

In a statement, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Robison “exemplifies exactly what we strive for” and called him “one of the best to ever wear a Vikings uniform.’’

In a statement, Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer called Robison “one of the best leaders I’ve seen in my career’’ and said he helped built “the kind of culture we want with this team.’’

With Robison’s depature, Tashawn Bower and Stephen Weatherly take over as the defensive ends backing up starters Griffen and Danielle Hunter. The spot opened up by Robison allowed Minnesota to hold onto nose tackle David Parry, who had been on the roster bubble.

VIKINGS 53-MAN ROSTER

Here is Minnesota’s 53-man roster by position in alphabetical order:

QBs (3)

Kirk Cousins

Trevor Siemian

Kyle Sloter

RBs (5)

Mike Boone

Dalvin Cook

C.J. Ham

Latavius Murray

Roc Thomas

WRs (5)

Stacy Coley

Stefon Diggs

Adam Thielen

Laquon Treadwell

Brandon Zylstra

TEs (3)

Tyler Conklin

David Morgan

Kyle Rudolph

OL (9)

Aviante Collins

Tom Compton

Pat Elflein

Rashod Hill

Danny Isidora

Brett Jones

Riley Reiff

Brian O’Neill

Mike Remmers

DL (9)

Tashawn Bower

Everson Griffen

Jalyn Holmes

Danielle Hunter

Jaleel Johnson

Linval Joseph

David Parry

Sheldon Richardson

Stephen Weatherly

LB (5)

Anthony Barr

Devante Downs

Ben Gedeon

Eric Kendricks

Eric Wilson

CB (6)

Mackensie Alexander

Mike Hughes

Xavier Rhodes

Marcus Sherels

Trae Waynes

Holton Hill

S (5)

Anthony Harris

George Iloka

Jayron Kearse

Andrew Sendejo

Harrison Smith

Specialists (3)

Daniel Carlson – K

Kevin McDermott – LS

Ryan Quigley – P PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings center Pat Eflein returns to practice Sunday, expected out Week 1

By Chris Tomasson

Pat Elflein is back.

A source said Saturday the Vikings center will practice on Sunday for the first time since he was injured in last January’s NFC championship game at Philadelphia. But the source said he won’t be ready in time to play in the Sept. 9 regular-season opener against San Francisco at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Elfein had been placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp but was taken off it and placed on the 53-man roster when it was set Saturday. Had Elflein remained on the list, he would have been sidelined for at least the first six weeks of the season.

Elflein suffered a fractured left ankle in the 38-7 to the Eagles, and he also was bothered by a shoulder issue late in the season. While Elflein underwent surgery on both his ankle and shoulder during the offseason, a source said the latter was the primary reason he had not before been cleared to practice.

Minnesota’s starting center in the opener is expected to be Brett Jones or Danny Isidora. Jones, who started 12 games for the New York Giants last season at center and was acquired in a trade last Sunday, has the inside track to start.

In Minnesota’s 13-3 win at Tennessee in last Thursday’s preseason finale, Isidora played the first half at center and Jones the second. Cornelius Edison started the first three preseason games at center, but was released Saturday.

ZYLSTRA MAKES ROSTER

Vikings wide receiver Brandon Zylstra often has been called another Adam Thielen. Now, he has joined Thielen on the 53-man roster.

The Spicer native draws comparisons to Thielen because both are Minnesota, both played at small schools in the state and both went undrafted. After playing at Concordia-Moorhead, Zylstra spent two years in the Canadian Football League.

“That’s so exciting for our coaching staff, the community,’’ Dan Essler, Zylstra’s coach New London-Spicer High School, said of Zylstra making the team. “All day, we’ve been kind of sitting on pins and needles on whether he was going to make it or not. It’s very exciting.’’

Minnesota kept five receivers. The others are Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell and second-year man Stacy Coley, who remains out with a groin strain but is considered to have a big upside.

The Vikings on Saturday released Kendall Wright, a sign they have plenty of confidence in Treadwell as an inside receiver, Chad Beebe, Jeff Badet and Tavarres King (with an injury designation). They have interest in Beebe and Badet for the 10-man practice squad, which will be set Sunday.

BRIEFLY

–Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who had a strong preseason, was disappointed by his release. The Vikings have interest in him for the practice squad, but he declined to say whether he might want to come back for a second year on the squad. It’s possible Odenigbo could be claimed on waivers.

–Other players released the Vikings have interest in for the practice squad include guard Colby Gossett, safety Jack Tocho, linebacker Reshard Cliett and Curtis Cothran. Gossett, taken in the sixth round, was the only one of Minnesota’s eight draft picks to be released. Defensive end Ade Aruna, a sixth-round selection, is on injured reserve.

–A source the hamstring injury punt returner Marcus Sherels suffered in an Aug. 24 preseason game is healing well and there is hope he can return to practice Wednesday and play against the 49ers. A source said the ankle injury suffered by running back Roc Thomas in the preseason finale is not serious.

–Counting Zylsra, four undrafted rookies made the roster. The others were Thomas, running back Mike Boone and cornerback Holton Hill.

–San Francisco running back Jerick McKinnon had been excited about opening the season against his former team. But McKinnon, who played with the Vikings the past four years, suffered a torn right ACL on Saturday in practice, ending his season. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Terence Newman retires as player, will take up coaching with Vikings

By Ben Goessling

The Vikings initiated something of a youth movement with the roster moves they made to set their 53-man roster Saturday, bidding farewell to their longest-tenured player while turning their oldest into an assistant coach.

Cornerback Terence Newman, who turns 40 on Tuesday, announced his retirement Saturday afternoon. The 15-year veteran will join the Vikings coaching staff immediately, the team announced, with Newman’s role to be detailed further at a later date. The team also released defensive end Brian Robison, who’d taken pay cuts to stay with the Vikings each of the past two years but had no guaranteed money in his 2018 deal. Robison, who turned 35 in April, leaves the team after 11 seasons.

Newman, who had said 2018 would be his final NFL season, re-signed with the team for the veteran’s minimum salary of $1.015 million on April 30. He had played in the Vikings’ nickel package on early downs during their first three preseason games — much as he’d done last year — but as undrafted free agent Holton Hill continued to push for a roster spot, it seemed possible something would have to give in the Vikings’ crowded defensive backfield.

Coach Mike Zimmer has long said Newman had the skills to be an NFL coach, and the only question would be whether Newman envisioned such a role for himself. At least for 2018, he will continue to be a resource to a Vikings secondary that has looked to Newman for guidance since he first joined the team in 2015.

The fifth pick in the 2003 draft, Newman played for Zimmer in three different cities, working with him in Dallas for four seasons and joining him in Cincinnati in 2012 before following him to Minnesota a year after Zimmer became the Vikings’ head coach. Newman retires with 42 , eight forced and two sacks. He was a Pro Bowl pick in 2007 and 2009.

Aside from shifting Newman to a role on the coaching staff and releasing Robison, the Vikings’ highest-profile move on Saturday was the release of receiver Kendall Wright, whom the team signed to a one-year deal in the spring. The former Titans and Bears receiver had joined the team as a potential slot receiver, but Laquon Treadwell’s improvement in camp put him ahead of Wright in the Vikings’ three-receiver sets, and the Vikings opted to keep both Brandon Zylstra and Stacy Coley ahead of Wright.

The team will start the season with five receivers and five running backs, after opting to keep both Mike Boone and Roc Thomas on its 53-man roster to provide extra depth in a backfield where the Vikings could opt to break in Dalvin Cook slowly after his return from a torn ACL last year.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings opted to keep 11 defensive backs, hanging on to Hill and veteran Marcus Sherels (who will serve primarily as the team’s punt returner). The Vikings will entrust much of the nickel cornerback role to Mackensie Alexander and possibly first-round pick Mike Hughes, who has impressed coaches and teammates this summer.

The emergence of young pass rushers in Stephen Weatherly and Tashawn Bower helped trigger the release of Robison, who leaves tied for fifth in team history with 60 sacks.

Weatherly and Bower will be the Vikings’ primary backups behind Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter, while the team retains five defensive tackles: Sheldon Richardson, Linval Joseph, 2017 fourth-rounder , 2018 fourth-rounder Jalyn Holmes and free-agent pickup David Parry.

Elflein to return

The Vikings did get some good news for their offensive line Saturday when they activated center Pat Elflein from the physically-unable-to-perform list. An NFL source said Elflein would practice for the first time Sunday since having offseason ankle and shoulder surgery, and though he won’t be ready for the regular-season opener against San Francisco, he should be back soon, provided he’s able to handle contact without any issues.

PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings release veteran defensive end Brian Robison after 11 seasons

By Andrew Krammer

Brian Robison, the Vikings’ longest-tenured player, was released on Saturday.

Robison, 35, was cut from the roster in the most surprising move made by Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman during the team’s cutdown to form its initial 53-man roster for the 2018 season.

Robison’s run with the Vikings, which started as a fourth-round pick in 2007, has ended after he played 180 games in 11 seasons — among the most of any player to wear a Vikings uniform. What the future holds for the defensive end remains to be seen. The veteran did not announce his retirement with Saturday’s news, saying, “It’s not goodbye.”

“Sad Day!” Robison wrote on his verified Twitter account. “I love you Vikings Fans, teammates, coaches and all I have come in contact with over the years. This one hurts, but it’s not goodbye. More like see you later. Thank you @Vikings for 11 amazing years and one opportunity. Formal letter to come soon.”

Saying Robison exceeded expectations would undersell his contributions to the Vikings.

As a kid from a small town just north of Houston, Robison grew into a leader in both football and life for the Vikings locker room. Head coach Mike Zimmer hand-picked Robison as a team captain, and one he’d meet with weekly to get the pulse of the locker room, in each of the past two seasons.

He’ll be missed most as a cohesive influence in the locker room, instantly forming connections with younger players threatening his job security. When defensive end Stephen Weatherly was drafted in late April 2016, he was invited to Robison’s weekly in-season bible study at his house that included about 15 players from all corners of the roster. Weatherly also credited Robison’s mentorship for his own rise on the field.

“I was able to interact with his wife and his kids and stuff like that,” said Weatherly, who is expected to play more in Robison’s absence. “Just a great dude. He was always the first one to invite you somewhere — definitely fishing whenever possible. He always knew how to help you decompress and how to keep everything in perspective.”

The Vikings defense fielded a top-15 scoring unit in four of Robison’s six seasons as a full-time starter from 2011 through 2016.

Robison’s 60 career sacks are tied with Kevin Williams for fifth in Vikings history since they became a recorded stat in 1982, trailing only John Randle, Chris Doleman, and Everson Griffen. He appeared in 173 regular-season games for 17th most in Vikings history, according to Pro Football Reference.

“Throughout our ownership of the Minnesota Vikings, players like Brian Robison have made our journey special,” owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in a statement. “Brian meant as much to the community as he did to our football team. He is an exceptional person and always carried himself with such class and character.”

His selfless nature is displayed through his charitable efforts, including raising thousands of dollars annually for K9’s4Cops and other organizations via his Reel ’Em In Foundation.

Robison also agreed to pay cuts totaling $3.4 million each of the past two years to remain in Minnesota, including a $2 million cut this spring when he indicated 2018 would be his final NFL season. His career earnings to date still topped $42 million in 11 NFL seasons.

Win or lose, Robison was a stand-up professional with reporters and with his teammates. He was voted the Korey Stringer Media Good Guy Award winner by local beat writers in 2014, a year in which the team went 7-9.

Robison’s willingness to help younger players carried an even greater impact. After Danielle Hunter made 12.5 sacks as a rotational player in 2016, Robison publicly said Hunter had done enough to take his job — a rare admission for an NFL starter of any caliber.

Zimmer called Robison a key in establishing the “kind of culture” he sought in Minnesota.

“He’s been such a great player for us and an even better help building the kind of culture we want with this team,” Zimmer said in a statement. “Brian will be missed, but his influence will continue to be felt on this team going forward.” PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 9/2/18

Kirk Cousins: Under Pressure

By Ben Goessling

As the sun shone bright over the Vikings’ state-of-the-art practice facility July 28 — the day a roster with 11 former Pro Bowl players assembled for the first full-squad practice of training camp — Mike Zimmer took on 2018’s dizzying expectations with something of a mission statement, offset by bits of self-deprecating humor. “I don’t think it’s [the players’] job to try and keep the expectations down. I think it’s their job to come out here and perform well enough so we exceed expectations,” he said. “It’s probably my job to talk about how bad we are going to be as opposed to them. Having good players and having high expectations is a good thing. It’s bad for coaches, but it’s good for fans and everybody else.”

There’s no real point in downplaying it: This Vikings team is supposed to be really good. The shrinking violet routine probably won’t work for a team that won 13 games and reached the NFC title game a year ago, before adding the biggest prize of free agency and a Pro Bowl defensive tackle in the same week in March.

There will likely be no Super Bowl-or-bust proclamations, no showy statements from a team that takes its cues from its indefatigable coach and its studious . But after years spent curating a top-ranked defense and upgrading skill position talent on offense, the Vikings gave Kirk Cousins a three-year, $84 million deal, making him the first quarterback in the free-agency era to land a fully guaranteed deal. The Vikings’ actions suggest they know their time to win is now, and their response will be to prepare, not to preen or panic.

“I don’t go out on third down and think about the pressure,” Cousins said. “I’m thinking about coverage, blitzes, setting the protection the right way, making the reads and my footwork. It just doesn’t end up affecting the actual operation of the job. Is there pressure to play in this league? Yes. There always has been. I felt a great deal of pressure as a rookie, just fighting to make the team. There’s pressure for every guy that’s out there. You’ve got to recognize the pressure for what it is, put it on the shelf and go to work.”

And yet, while the Vikings appear to have a sensibility about them as they approach the opportunity in front of them, there’s no guarantee things will work out. Recent history would suggest, in fact, that it’s more likely they won’t.

No NFC team has won the Super Bowl the year after it lost the conference championship game since the 1996 . The 2012 San Francisco 49ers were the last NFC team even to reach the Super Bowl after losing the conference title game. And though four teams — all in the AFC — have followed a conference championship game loss with a Super Bowl title since 2000, the same number of teams have lost 10 or more games the year after they were a conference runner-up, including the 2001 and 2010 Vikings.

Results of teams who lost the conference title the previous year Since 2000, the Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens are the only teams to win a Super Bowl after losing the conference final the year before. Teams in red lost more than 10 games in the regular season.

This year’s Vikings team faces a thorny schedule that includes two sets (each of them involving a Super Bowl participant) of back-to-back road games on opposite coasts. The rest of the NFC North has regrouped, with new head coaches in Chicago and Detroit and a new GM (to go with a healthy Aaron Rodgers) in Green Bay. And a team that had defensive starters miss a total of three games because of injury last year might not be as fortunate in 2018.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Cousins said. “But I look at it as, ‘Any year could be the year.’ I have to look back and say, ‘What if everybody in Washington last year had stayed healthy? How good could we have been?’ I don’t know. I think about, ‘What if we lose [Stefon] Diggs, [Adam] Thielen, Riley Reiff in the first game?’ Are the expectations now exactly the same as they were with them? I don’t know. I just think that it’s a fluid situation. We’re going to do the best we can, and give it everything we’ve got.”

Cousins the hot commodity

If Cousins’ contract makes him a source of national intrigue for the 2018 season, so does the uniqueness of his situation. Since 2000, only three teams — the 2001 Ravens, the 2008 Packers and 2016 Broncos — made offseason switches to new the year after reaching the conference title game.

Two of those three changes, in Green Bay and Denver, were triggered by ’s and Peyton Manning’s departures, as the teams shifted to young QBs: Aaron Rodgers and Trevor Siemian, who now backs up Cousins in Minnesota.

The only two quarterbacks since 2000 to sign as free agents and become new starters for teams that made it to at least the conference title game the year before are Elvis Grbac with the Ravens and Cousins with the Vikings.

A handful of other playoff teams have switched quarterbacks the following year; Favre and Manning, of course, made the final stops of their careers by signing with defending division champions in Minnesota and Denver. On balance, though, Cousins’ situation is rare in the recent NFL.

New QBs on Contending Teams The job Kirk Cousins accepted this spring -- as the new starting quarterback for a team that came within at least a game of the Super Bowl the previous year -- is one that’s rarely been offered in the 21st-century NFL. In fact, only three other teams since 2000 have made offseason switches to new quarterbacks the year after going to their conference championship game or further. Here’s a look at how those teams fared:

2001 Ravens Previous Year Won Super Bowl XXXV

PREVIOUS Trent Dilfer → NEW Elvis Grbac Grbac threw for just 15 against 18 interceptions, and after allowing only 165 points the previous year, the Ravens gave up 265 in 2001 -- enough of a drop for them to finish 10-6 and lose to the Steelers in the AFC divisional playoffs after a wild-card victory over the Dolphins.

2008 Packers Previous Year Lost NFC Title Game

PREVIOUS Brett Favre → NEW Aaron Rodgers After Favre’s divorce with the Packers consumed the NFL news cycle for much of the summer, Rodgers threw for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first season as the starter, and the Packers fought their way into a three-team NFC North race with the Vikings and Bears. But they lost seven of their final 10 games, falling five times by four points or less on their way to a 6-10 season.

2016 Broncos Previous Year Won Super Bowl 50

PREVIOUS Peyton Manning → NEW Trevor Siemian Siemian directed two fourth-quarter scoring drives in Denver’s 21-20 win in a Super Bowl rematch with the Panthers to open the season, and the Broncos cruised into a Week 11 bye with a 7-3 record. A three-game losing streak in which they only scored 23 points doomed their playoff chances, though, and the Broncos missed the postseason at 9-7.

It means, fair or not, he will be perceived as the missing piece — just as Favre was when he came to the Vikings in 2009, a year in which the quarterback joined a team coming off an NFC North championship. Favre was in Minnesota in part to prove to the Packers he could still play, but he carried the hopes of Vikings players who believed he could take them to the promised land.

2009, Favre said, was different from any other year in his career.

“For many obvious reasons, it was pressure like I had never felt before,” he said.

Asked what advice he would give the quarterback who will now step into the spotlight he once occupied, Favre said: “Do what got you there, because it was good enough, obviously. And most importantly, remember you can never do it alone.”

The 30-year-old Cousins sounds like he understands.

“It’s a team game, you know?” he said this summer at his football camp in his hometown of Holland, Mich. “Some of my best games in Washington, I walked off the field like, ‘Man, I’m getting better — I am playing at a high level,’ and we lost. And other games, we would win, and I’d go off the field and throw my helmet in my locker and be like, ‘I didn’t have it today.’ And so to say that, ‘Oh, he better get it done,’ it’s like — well, we’ve all got to step up.

“And frankly, if we win the Super Bowl, and I play like crap, everybody’s patting me on the back, it’s like, ‘OK, but it wasn’t because I showed up.’ We’re all working together, we all have individual roles and that’s why it’s so fun to follow, because there’s so many angles and story lines and components that come together to create the final product.”

Built to last

That’s where the Vikings’ 2018 roster should put them in better position for success than perhaps any team Cousins played on in Washington.

The Vikings upgraded at defensive tackle by signing Sheldon Richardson a day after Cousins. They are counting on the development of Laquon Treadwell and production from Kendall Wright to round out their group of receivers behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. They added another athletic cornerback in first-round pick Mike Hughes, bolstered their secondary with a Zimmer disciple in George Iloka and locked up two more defensive stalwarts — Eric Kendricks and Danielle Hunter — to long-term deals before signing Diggs last month.

“The ultimate goal is to keep [the window for winning] open every year,” General Manager Rick Spielman said. “And eventually, these guys are going to get old, and we’ve got to continue to draft. These coaches do an unbelievable job of developing this talent, and we’ve got some guys coming up through the ranks.”

Left: Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, Brian Robison, Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph and Danielle Hunter. Top Right: Minnesota Vikings linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. Top Left: Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Danielle Hunter. Nine of the Vikings’ 11 defensive starters are signed through at least 2019, and there remains the possibility the team could still fit a long-term deal for Richardson or Anthony Barr into its framework. It’s part of why no one with the Vikings will call 2018 an all-in year — because the group is set up to stay together for a while.

“You can’t keep everybody,” Spielman said. “As long as we keep our philosophy in place and continue to bring in the right type of players — and I’m the first one to admit I’m never going to be 100 percent, but we’re sure as heck going to try as hard as we can to put this thing together the right way.”

And while Redskins management seemed at odds with Cousins at various points during his contract saga there, the quarterback has said several times how refreshing he has found the Vikings’ no-frills culture to be.

“When I talked to Eric Kendricks and congratulated him on signing his extension, he said: ‘Kirk, really, I decided to sign and I wanted to be here because it’s all about winning here. There’s no other agendas. Let’s just win football games,’ ” Cousins said this summer. “He looked at me and said: ‘You’ll see. You’ll see when we get there in the season and you’ll know.’ ”

Studying greatness

Each NFL season brings its unforeseen challenges, though, and Cousins has talked recently about his practice of seeking counsel from QBs who have consistently been able to rise above them.

Cousins adopted a strict diet similar to Tom Brady’s — apart from the occasional cheat day at Portillo’s or the State Fair — after conversations with health professionals in west Michigan and a closer look at Brady’s routine. And as Cousins talked last week about common traits of great quarterbacks, he fixated on their consistent ability to avoid sacks.

“You know that when you have a body of work — even a decade for some of these guys — and you can see they’re taking only 25 sacks a year, I’m sure, in one of those years, there were injuries, there were issues, and yet, it didn’t cause their sack total to jump,” he said. “That says something about their ability to play with a quick mind, quick arm, get the ball out, make quick decisions, get to the right place.”

It’s a salient point, given what’s going on in front of Cousins: He has yet to log a snap with center Pat Elflein, who missed the entire offseason and training camp while rehabbing shoulder and ankle injuries. The Vikings will have a new left guard in Tom Compton, and they will make Mike Remmers a full-time guard after shifting him there during the playoffs last year, with Rashod Hill becoming the right tackle.

After taking only 49 sacks in his first two seasons as a starter in Washington, Cousins went down 41 times last year while playing behind a line decimated by injuries. And yet, in Cousins’ mind, it’s imperative that quarterbacks avoid sacks even in times when their line lacks continuity.

“Many of those sacks are, the clock goes off for the quarterback,” he said. “Even if the linemen are good at protecting, they can only protect for so long. So if it’s long enough, it’s not the O-line’s fault. Two, many times, if you’re bringing a free runner — a guy blitzes and there’s nobody for him — either someone screwed up the protection mentally, not knowing where to go, or the quarterback screwed it up, not knowing he was [throwing] hot or didn’t set the protection right.

“Are there times where the offensive lineman falls over and a guy’s quickly sacked? Yeah, that’s probably the fault of the line. But the number of times that that happens and a guy is just beat like a drum is not as much as you might think.”

Will instability on the line be the issue the Vikings have to overcome? Will it be something else? Whether it’s clear now or not, it will likely arise eventually.

And the tale of a team that begins with lofty expectations — as well as a quarterback who is being paid to be great — will likely be told there.

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Inside pressure: Upgraded interior push could create a nastier Vikings defense

By Andrew Krammer

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sat with the NFL’s reigning No. 1 defense in February and wondered, “Do we need to do something different, even though they’re converting one third down per game?” Zimmer’s honest offseason assessment led to the eventual answer of yes, get more pressure on the quarterback — especially up the middle.

Enter DT Sheldon Richardson, a free-agent prize signed this offseason to a one-year, $8 million contract lined with another $3 million worth of incentives. That’s a lofty investment for a defense that was as close to perfect as any in the league last season.

The Vikings believe Richardson, 27, can make them better; Richardson, a former first-round pick who was shipped from the Jets to the Seahawks a year ago, feels the same way — especially about respected Vikings defensive line coach Andre Patterson.

“I do feel like he can take me to the next level,” Richardson said of Patterson. “Redefine my hands and make those pressures turn into sacks.”

Sacks were harder to come by for the Vikings defense as last season progressed. The production was nearly cut in half, from averaging 2.7 sacks in the first 11 games to 1.4 in the final seven games of the season and playoffs.

Look deeper and you’ll find just 6½ of the Vikings’ 40 sacks came from defensive tackles. That’s not ideal for Zimmer’s scheme, which was in place when Geno Atkins became a quarterback’s nightmare as a tackle for four seasons in Cincinnati.

Top interior threat key for NFL’s best pass-rushing teams Pass rushers coming off the edge to take down QBs are the most celebrated, but teams featuring interior pass-rushers applying pressure often wreak the most havoc. That’s where the Vikings’ new addition, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, comes in. Richardson’s interior push could create a nastier Vikings’ defense straight up the middle.

Interior Edge PLAYERS

PLAYER TEAM PRESSURES 1. Aaron Donald LAR 91 2. Von Miller DEN 83 3. Khalil Mack OAK 79 4. Demarcus Lawrence DAL 79 5. Terrell Suggs BAL 75 6. Chandler Jones ARI 76 7. Melvin Ingram III LAC 76 8. Joey Bosa LAC 75 9. Cameron Jordan NOL 74 10. Geno Atkins CIN 70 11. Cameron Heyward PIT 62 12. Jurrell Casey TEN 53 13. DeForest Buckner SFO 52 14. Malik Jackson JAX 51 15. Kawaan Short CAR 51 16. Fletcher Cox PHI 51

TEAMS TEAM SACKS 1. PIT 56 2. JAX 55 3. CAR 50 4. LAR 48 5. LAC 43 6. TEN 43 7. NOL 42 8. BAL 41 9. CIN 41 10. DAL 38 11. PHI 38 12. ARI 47 13. DEN 33 14. OAK 31 15. SFO 30

The Vikings have little doubt Richardson can provide an upgrade up the middle.

“He’s a guy that can go in there and bring pressure when we need him to,” defensive end Danielle Hunter said. “It’s going to be a plus for the defensive line and defense, because it’s a part of our defense for the three-tech [defensive tackle] to bring pressure.”

Richardson was a top-20 interior pass rusher for the Seahawks last season with 36 total pressures (hurries, hits and sacks), according to Pro Football Focus. But he had just one sack, meaning he lacked “the vanity and the numbers,” Richardson said, that often accompany a highly coveted free agent.

He could become one of 2019’s top free agents if he reaches the ceiling the Vikings expect. Along the way, Richardson also would make life easier for the Vikings’ top two pass rushers off the edge in Hunter and Everson Griffen.

“It’s all about whenever you bring pressure to a quarterback’s feet, it stops him from stepping into his throws,” Hunter said. “It makes him hold the ball longer. It gives us time to go around the edge and beat our guys, make moves and just get to the quarterback.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Kyle Rudolph's path to stardom a more conventional one for Vikings

By Sid Hartman

While several Vikings stars took unique paths to become elite NFL players — Adam Thielen coming from Division II Minnesota State Mankato, Kirk Cousins being an afterthought at Michigan State before being drafted as a backup, Stefon Diggs being a fifth-round pick out of Maryland — Kyle Rudolph followed a more direct route.

Rudolph was a five-star recruit, the No. 1-rated tight end and the No. 20 overall prospect in the country coming out of Elder High School in Cincinnati. And as he puts it, “I was fortunate enough, as a high school kid, to have pretty much a scholarship offer from every school in the country.”

He visited Tennessee, Ohio State, , Boston College and Notre Dame.

“I think Notre Dame has to look for a certain type of player to go after because of the admission standards,” Rudolph said. “You have to meet a certain requirement to get into school. You can’t just be eligible through the clearinghouse and get into Notre Dame.

“So they recruit a specific type of individual, and then the school itself and the football program, it sells itself. Notre Dame has the history and tradition that it has on the football side, but also the degree and the alumni network speaks for itself.”

The fact he met Harrison Smith at Notre Dame has also given him a consistent defensive star to measure himself against for nearly a decade.

“He has always been a great football player. Extremely smart, always in the right spot. I have gone against him in practice for nine out of the last 10 years and he’s a guy to where it’s extremely hard day in and day out to beat him,” Rudolph said. “He is such a smart and talented football player that he already knows what you’re going to do before you do it.

“It has made it tough practicing against him every day for the last 10 years.”

Fully healthy, feeling 19 again

A second-round draft pick in 2011, Rudolph has played all 48 regular-season games the past three seasons, matching his total number of games played his first four years in the league.

The past two seasons have been particularly great. Rudolph’s 15 touchdowns trail only Jimmy Graham among NFL tight ends, and his 1,372 yards are sixth best in the league.

Still, he was injured at the tail end of 2017. He was asked how he is feeling heading into his eighth season.

“I got hurt in the Carolina game when someone fell on my leg and I sprained my ankle. But fortunately, with our great training staff here and our doctors, I was able to play every game last year, and had the surgery in the offseason, got the ankle fixed and I feel great,” he said. “This entire training camp, I have honestly felt like I’m in the best shape I have ever been in and moving as well as I have since I was 19 years old.”

And while new Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and new quarterback Cousins both have reputations as being tight end-friendly, Rudolph said he’s not expecting a huge uptick in production.

“With our offense, you look back to the couple places [DeFilippo] was before here, I like to think we have much more dynamic playmakers than they did in the places that he was in,” said Rudolph, 28. “We have guys like Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray. I don’t expect the tight end to be as involved as maybe in the past, but there is going to be a role for us, and we’re going to do everything we can to help this team win football games.”

Record books within reach

Rudolph is first in Vikings history in catches for a tight end and second in receptions and yards, behind the great Steve Jordan. He was asked what it means to be going after those kind of franchise records.

“He is a phenomenal football player, a guy that changed the tight end position when he played the game, and a guy I have gotten to know a little bit through my time here,” Rudolph said of Jordan, a seventh-round draft pick out of Brown in 1982 who went on to six Pro Bowls over 13 seasons with the Vikings. “He’s someone I look up to a lot. Just being mentioned in the same category as him is an honor, and I’m going to do everything I can this season to go out and help our team win games.”

Still Rudolph said while the touchdowns and receptions are great, he has a narrow focus on his goals.

“If your goal is not to win a championship then why be out here?” he said. “We have everything we need to take the step that we didn’t take last year. Everyone knows how the season ended. For us it’s about taking the next step and going further and winning that game and being the first team in Vikings history to win a championship.”

Yes, Rudolph is one of the great talents in the NFL, and he will play a key role in the Vikings’ chances of winning a division or a Super Bowl.

But he has also done great work for the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and continues to pride himself on being a leader on and off the field — a trait he said he learned from former teammate Chad Greenway.

“Chad is a guy who has always showed me what it means not just to be a true professional in your work,” Rudolph said, “but an incredible husband, an incredible father, a man that serves his community and does the right things on and off the field.”

JOTTINGS

• Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck said he was pleased with Thursday’s 48-10 victory over New Mexico State but added, “It is very, very difficult to exceed my expectations, because the minute you’re getting close to exceeding my expectations, they immediately go up. It’s very hard to do that. I don’t know if anybody exceeded it. This is what I wanted to see out of our football team.”

• Now that the preseason is over, the oddsmakers at Bovada have the Vikings tied with the Rams for the third- best odds to win the NFL championship, trailing last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Patriots and Eagles. The Vikings also have opened as six-point favorites over the 49ers for Week 1.

• It’s worth noting that left tackle Matt Kalil, the Vikings’ 2012 first-round pick now in his second season with Carolina, had a knee scope and is out indefinitely.

• The Bears’ trade for Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack brought to mind the Vikings’ trade of a first-round pick and two third-round picks in the 2008 draft to the Chiefs for defensive end Jared Allen. Kansas City got tackle Branden Albert in the first round and running back and safety DaJuan Morgan in the third. Charles is the Chiefs’ all-time rushing leader. Allen was a three-time All-Pro and one of the greatest Vikings ever.

• The word is that former Gophers men’s basketball player Royce White of Hopkins is going to play in Italy under longtime NCAA and NBA coach Larry Brown for Fiat Torino.

• Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari talked to Kentucky Sports Radio about DeLaSalle product Reid Travis, who is now with the Wildcats as a graduate transfer from Stanford. “My thing with him is, let’s lose some weight,” Calipari said. “Let’s be more about movement. You’re not going to lose your strength and your power.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Bears' trade for Khalil Mack throws another hurdle in front of Vikings

By Jim Souhan

Minnesota teams often find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Wild of Parise and Suter played their best when the Chicago Blackhawks of Kane and Toews were at their best, leaving a good Minnesota team outclassed.

The Timberwolves’ best team ran into Shaq and Kobe, and their recent trade for Jimmy Butler barely made a ripple in a Western Conference that looks like the basketball version of “Mission: Impossible.”

The Twins of the 2000s turned Yankee Stadium into a brick wall into which they could run. Many Vikings teams writhed in the chokeholds of arms attached to Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

With the Oakland Raiders’ trade of the great edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears on Saturday, a very good Vikings team will face a familiar script in 2018. The Vikings have built an excellent roster, paid for a franchise quarterback, and now will face conference and divisional competition that threatens to suppress their good work.

In the past few days, the Packers signed Rodgers, the Rams signed defensive end Aaron Donald and the Bears traded for Mack.

The Vikings will face an intimidating Rams defense in September, the Bears should have rookie linebacker Roquan Smith and Mack integrated into a very good defense by the time the Vikings travel to Chicago in November, and the Packers will continue to be a threat as long as Rodgers is upright.

The NFC features a handful of potential super teams: the defending champion Eagles, the rising Rams, the Vikings, Saints and Packers.

The NFC North might now be the best division in football. All four teams either have their long- term quarterbacks or believe they do. The Vikings have the best overall roster; the Packers have Rodgers and his new best friend, tight end Jimmy Graham; the Bears should have an excellent defense; and the Lions remain dangerous if perpetually frustrated.

The Bears are now the key variable in the division. With the addition of Mack, they have a remarkably young roster, and their willingness to deal two first-round picks and other considerations for one quite expensive defender should be read as an indication they believe second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky is ready to win.

If any Vikings fans are giddily thinking the Bears just made their franchise-shredding version of the Herschel Walker deal ... well, stop it.

Walker was a fading star on a bad Cowboys team that engineered its offense to fit his one- dimensional skills, and the deal hinged on Jimmy Johnson’s ability to fool Vikings General Manager Mike Lynn into thinking that Johnson valued a handful of average players more than the draft picks to which they were attached.

This isn’t that.

This is new Oakland coach Jon Gruden asserting his authority over personnel moves and making a bad decision based on dubious rationale.

He wanted to prove he is the boss and can’t be pushed around by a star holdout.

He revealed his preference to spend his money on offense, where he made his reputation, even though the moment that made him a celebrity was winning a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy’s defense and Brad Johnson’s smarts.

He signaled he cares more about winning in Las Vegas than this season in Oakland.

Gruden could make this all work, if he capitalizes on the draft picks he receives for Mack, but he’s taking a massive risk.

Mack is nothing like Walker. He is a young star at a much more important position who is entering his prime. His addition to the Bears lowers the chances that the Bears’ picks will be high enough in the draft for the Raiders to find a player like him.

The last time the Vikings had first-round picks in consecutive seasons, they chose Laquon Treadwell and Trae Waynes. One might prove to be a bust; the other is a solid player who might get bumped aside by another first-rounder, Mike Hughes.

By proving he’s the boss, Gruden took a risk that might prove he’s not worthy of the title. The NFC benefits, which means the Vikings might not. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

2018 expectations for Vikings call to mind the failure of 1972

By Mark Craig

This isn’t the first time the Vikings have been a championship contender coming off a division title while sporting the top-ranked defense and an expensive new quarterback facing immediate Super Bowl-or-bust expectations.

In 1972, quarterback Fran Tarkenton returned from the Giants via a blockbuster trade to join forces with a defense that had allowed 9.9 points per game while going 11-3 the year before. But the Vikings started 1-3, finished 7-7 and missed the playoffs for the only time in 11 seasons between 1968 and 1978.

Fast forward 46 years and you’ll find a similar type of pressure mounting in Minneapolis. Now, it’s Kirk Cousins and his $84 million guaranteed contract joining a conference finalist that went 13-3 with a defense that also led the league in fewest points allowed.

“I could see how some would see similarities,” Vikings Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause said. “We had big expectations in ’72, like this year. But ’72 was a rough season. It took us that whole year and the next training camp to come together as a team.”

Once they did, the Vikings went to two consecutive Super Bowls and three of the next four. But 1972 was a missed opportunity for a team that had gone 35-7 the previous three seasons and was adding an elite passer.

“Francis was known to be one of the best quarterbacks in football,” said former Vikings running back Dave Osborn. “A missing piece. It is kind of like this year. But our high expectations became 7-7.”

In 1971, the Vikings were so dominant defensively that Alan Page became the first defensive player to win league MVP. But rotating quarterbacks Gary Cuozzo, Bobby Lee and Norm Snead provided little spark with nine touchdown passes, 18 interceptions and 134 fewer points than the 1969 team scored with Joe Kapp at quarterback.

Meanwhile, in New York, Tarkenton’s five-year stint with the Giants was coming to a messy end. Unhappy with his $125,000 salary, Tarkenton threatened to retire during the summer of 1971, but came back. The Giants finished 4-10 and, like Washington with Cousins, were done dealing with Tarkenton’s contract issues.

On Jan. 27, 1972, the Giants shipped Tarkenton back to Minnesota for a first-round pick in 1972, a second-rounder in 1973, Snead, receiver Bob Grim and running back Vince Clements.

Like Cousins in Washington, Tarkenton’s Giants were under .500 (33-37). Counting his first stint with the Vikings, Tarkenton had played 11 seasons without reaching the playoffs.

Page questioned the trade publicly when it was announced.

“It may get me in trouble,” he told reporters, “but I don’t think our offensive problems are one of personnel. We had three good quarterbacks.

“It is the Viking theory not to make mistakes, to play conservatively, and rely on the defense. I don’t think it makes that much difference who plays quarterback. Tarkenton is a good quarterback, but I don’t think anybody is that good to give up this much.”

The 1972 season unraveled quickly when the Vikings lost four of their first six games by a total of 10 points.

“We should have been so much better than that, but we never got going,” Hall of Fame tackle Ron Yary said. “You can’t blame any one person.”

Like this season, the ’72 schedule was tougher than the one the year before. The Vikings’ first two home games were against Washington and Miami, which would go 11-3 and 14-0, respectively, en route to Super Bowl VII, which Miami won to cap its 17-0 season.

The Vikings lost both games by a total of five points. Then, over the next three weeks, they lost to league lightweights St. Louis and Chicago by a combined five points as well.

Injuries nagged the defensive line and knocked middle linebacker Lonnie Warwick out of eight games. So after leading the league in points allowed for three consecutive years, the Vikings finished 11th.

Offensively, receiver Gene Washington had an injury-riddled season, and the running backs were all short-yardage grinders. And at quarterback, Tarkenton was a playmaker who made too many mistakes.

“When Francis came back, he had been used to controlling the game in New York,” Osborn said. “Bud said, ‘No, you’re not controlling the game. I’m controlling the game.’ So there was a little bit of an adjustment period as Francis adjusted over to Bud’s way of doing things.

“Keep it simple. Keep it basic. Don’t have some of those wild plays that Francis was used to some of the times.”

Tarkenton’s time in New York began with back-to-back 7-7 seasons, in 1967 and ’68. When he finished 7-7 in 1972, the critics in New York joked that Tarkenton’s tombstone would read 7-7.

“Francis was big-time in New York,” Krause said. “He was on Broadway and all this. I think there was a little something between Bud and Francis. I think it took a year for Bud to rein Francis in, whether Francis wants to admit it or not. Francis had to agree to what the football team was doing and become one of the guys.”

In 1973, Tarkenton erased 7-7 from his tombstone. He posted his best record (12-2, which he would repeat in 1975) and best passer rating (93.2) while winning the first of six consecutive division titles. He also had the fewest interceptions of his 18-year career (seven) and led the league in lowest percentage (2.6).

“Whatever Bud did,” said Osborn, “it worked because we were a different team after ’72.”

So how will Cousins and the 2018 Vikings be remembered? That’s the $84 million question. Sports Illustrated jokingly put the over/under for metaphorical pounds of pressure on Cousins at 4 billion.

“It will be interesting to watch because [Case] Keenum showed me some guts last year,” Krause said. “He led the team when he had to go in there. I think the guys like him and played hard for him.

“And then here comes Cousins getting close to $100 million. I’ll tell you what, I didn’t like that move. He’s got to prove to me he’s a winner. He’s never been a winner yet. Keenum was a winner. Now, it’s up to Cousins to grab the reins and say, ‘I’m the guy now. Follow me. I can win.’ ”

And can he win right away? PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Dalvin Cook: 'It's time for everybody to just watch me play football'

By Andrew Krammer

Four snaps, two carries and 1 yard.

Running back Dalvin Cook’s tiny preseason workload was by design for the Vikings offense, which wanted to preserve the lead back. The Vikings are expected to lean heavily in the regular season on Cook, now more than 11 months removed from a torn ACL in his left knee that stunted a spectacular start to his rookie season.

Cook, 23, achieved his final milestone by being tackled twice Aug. 24 against the Seahawks, including on a 1-yard gain that needed a second effort to move the chains on third down.

“Got that out of the way,” Cook said. “Now it’s just time for everybody to just watch me play football.”

That time has come.

Cook and running back Latavius Murray will make for a formidable duo for the seventh-ranked rushing attack from last year. Even with the $84 million addition of quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Vikings are expected to go as the running game goes. Only five quarterbacks had a better play-action passer rating last season than Case Keenum, according to Pro Football Focus, and one was Cousins in Washington.

To set up those fake handoffs, the Vikings need for the offensive line to again open lanes.

The run game’s zone-heavy scheme especially thrived last year in short-yardage situations. The Vikings’ 76.8 percent success rate (first down or touchdown) running the ball with 1 to 3 yards to go was a vast improvement from 2016’s rate of 62.7 percent — among the league’s worst that season.

Short-yardage success starts with a strong push from the offensive line. Continuity is key to get all five linemen moving in unison, according to co-offensive line coach Clancy Barone. The Vikings did not see their projected starting lineup, with center Pat Elflein still rehabbing, take a single snap together throughout the preseason.

“It’s like you and your brother. They have little code words you come up with, sometimes it’s like that,” Barone said. “If it happens it happens, but if not then we’re fine.”

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Kirk Cousins' 'brain coach' helps him cope with pressure, sleep and stay in a 'flow state'

By Chris Hine

In the 2016 offseason, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins got down to a bit of business he had neglected through his childhood and early adult life — watching every “Star Wars” movie.

Cousins ran through each volume in a single summer. But there was an O. Henry-esque twist to how Cousins had to watch them. He hooked up an electroencephalography (EEG) monitor to his brain that would measure its electronic activity while he was watching the movie — and if Cousins’ brain became too frenetic, the movie would shut off. If his brain lost focus, the movie would shut off. So with all the action on the screen, Cousins had to remain in the right mental state, or else he wouldn’t get to watch.

“We set the parameter to the DVD player that the movie will only play when his brain is calm and focused,” said Dr. Tim Royer, Cousins’ brain coach. “Not calm and relaxed. Not focused and stressed. But the exact firing that requires for the brain to be ‘in the zone.’ When an athlete is in the zone, they call it the flow state, there’s an actual electrical activity that happens in your brain when you’re doing that.”

All this was part of the extensive and atypical training Cousins does to mold his brain — so he can be in the right state of mind, all the time. Cousins is known as a bit of a nerd, and his mental conditioning is one of the reasons why.

Royer, president of a company called Neuropeak Pro, has worked with Cousins since the quarterback was at Michigan State, and he is the man Cousins charges with making sure his brain is in the right state of mind, all the time.

“He’s just been really good for me and my mental state and my overall health,” Cousins said. “He’s helping me to be at my best as a person and with my focus. He coaches me on my sleep and those kind of things, and he’s been a big asset for me — one of the many people in my corner, on my team if you will, that helps me be ready week in and week out.”

Royer and Cousins crossed paths when Cousins was struggling to juggle his on-field performance and classroom performance in college. Royer’s initial consultation involved giving Cousins tips on how to change his breathing patterns to affect his brain in a positive way. Royer gave Cousins a “medical-grade breathing belt” that would help him breathe more from his stomach and less from his chest.

“Most people breathe from their chest and it’s sort of very shallow and fast,” Royer said. “We get moving along so fast we just breathe that way all the time. And you need to teach the person to breathe the way that puts us in a more calm state, which is more from the stomach.”

Cousins saw his performance improve and kept up the relationship with Royer. Now Royer meets with Cousins either in person or by video conference before every game. One topic of heavy discussion is how Cousins is sleeping that particular week. Cousins sleeps with equipment that allows Royer to access sleep data for Cousins — how deep did Cousins sleep, how much rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep did he get?

Royer came to an interesting if somewhat obvious conclusion from Cousins’ sleep patterns: “The quality of his sleep is directly correlated to the difficulty of the defense the next day. … He sleeps better quantitatively, he has more deep sleep, more REM sleep if the defense is easier.”

From the time a game ends on Sunday, Cousins is planning the next week from a sleep perspective. He and Royer will adjust his sleep cycles using light therapy, especially if the next game involves a time zone change. Royer said Cousins living in Minnesota and being in the Central time zone is almost perfect for calibrating his sleep cycles. This goes hand in hand with the brain training. Instead of watching “Star Wars,” Cousins is now bingeing a bunch of “30 for 30” documentaries from ESPN, Royer said.

“Before… every little thing would turn into an anxiety situation or a stress situation,” Royer said. “Now [his brain] is in a different spot.”

Royer has worked with a number of athletes in his career, but few are on the level of dedication to this aspect of training as Cousins, a mastermind of mastering his mind.

“He understands it so well,” Royer said. “He knows how his brain contributes to his sleep and how his sleep contributed to his production … and how the breathing affects the heart. He just understands all these systems and how they all are interrelated. I’ve never seen an athlete work as hard as Kirk.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

In NFL where injuries are inevitable, Vikings' depth matters as much as their ample star power

By Chip Scoggins

In examining the strength of any sports team in any league, the most logical place to start is at the top, with the best players. The Vikings are no different.

Eleven players on their 53-man roster have Pro Bowl appearances on their résumés. By the start of next season, eight players will have contracts that boast a yearly average of at least $10 million over the first three seasons.

Those facts represent the definition of an organization operating in win-now mode. This season qualifies as a Super Bowl-or-bust quest for a team loaded with high-end talent.

The Vikings’ fate also will hinge heavily on teammates with lower profiles.

Star power rules the NFL, but so often a season is defined by the strength of the full roster. No league demands as much emphasis on depth — quality depth — as the NFL because injuries are a way of life.

The difference between a bad, average or great season can be determined by how well backups perform when pressed into duty.

In the NFL, attrition isn’t an excuse. It’s a reality, merely a matter of when and who.

“If you get the wrong players hurt and you don’t have a lot of depth behind them, then that really can derail a lot of things that you can do,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.

“And then you are always trying to cover up for them and things like that.”

In the best version, teams are able to plug and keep motoring. The Vikings seemed destined for Nowhereville last season after injuries sidelined Sam Bradford and Dalvin Cook. But then Case Keenum and Latavius Murray pounced on their opportunities and thrived.

The Eagles offered a case study in damage control in 2017. Carson Wentz’s 11th-hour knee injury made the Eagles look vulnerable, supposedly an easy out once the playoffs started because how could anyone trust Nick Foles under that pressure, right? The answer was historic.

Foles celebrated a remarkable fill-in by bathing in confetti after winning Super Bowl MVP honors following his duel with Tom Brady.

Roster patchwork tends to be more subtle. A key defensive player misses a month because of an ankle injury and his backup must fill the void. Examples happen all the time.

The Vikings’ two-tier roster puts even more pressure on Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman to avoid mistakes in choosing backups. The number of high-priced veterans forces the front office to construct the rest of the roster with relatively inexperienced players in order to fit under the salary cap. Inevitably, some of those youngsters will be asked to step in at some point.

The team’s depth already is being tested along the offensive line. Guard Nick Easton will miss the season after having neck surgery. Center Pat Elflein missed training camp recovering from ankle and shoulder surgeries. Other linemen have shuffled in and out of practice while dealing with minor injuries. Continuity has been nonexistent.

In a perfect world, injuries will be minimal, but things rarely follow script in the NFL. Teams must plan for chaos in building a roster that has quality depth. How they manage that chaos often determines how their season is defined. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

It's Stefon Diggs' year as Vikings' most talented, highest-paid and most frequently-targeted receiver

By Jim Souhan

In September 1990, the Vikings claimed Cris Carter off waivers, taking a chance on a player who was cut by the while battling addiction.

Carter caught 27 passes for the Vikings that season while learning the offense and straightening out his life. Statistically, he remained an underachiever.

Anthony Carter was the Vikings’ star receiver, and led the team with 70 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns in 1990. Hassan Jones had become the No. 2 receiver, catching 51 passes for 810 yards.

The Vikings featured an established star and a player on the rise at the position, so what happened during the team’s 1991 training camp proved fascinating. To anyone paying attention, it quickly became obvious that Cris Carter was about to become the Vikings’ go-to receiver.

In 1991, Carter led the team with 72 catches for 962 yards. Anthony Carter fell to 51 catches for 553 yards and Jones to 32 catches and 384 yards. Cris Carter was on his way to becoming a Hall of Famer.

We may be witnessing a similar shuffle for the Vikings this month. Last season, Adam Thielen became the first Viking to reach 1,000 receiving yards since 2009, following a season in which he would have reached 1,000 yards if the Vikings had thrown the ball to him more in the season finale. He is, statistically, the Vikings’ star wideout.

Stefon Diggs proved a capable complement, with 64 catches for 849 yards, but Case Keenum clearly preferred throwing to Thielen. Thielen led the team with 142 targets. Diggs was targeted 95 times, while playing two fewer games than Thielen.

During Kirk Cousins’ first training camp, he often seemed intent on getting the ball to Diggs. In three preseason games, Diggs had seven catches on 12 targets, while Thielen had four catches on nine targets.

During camp, Diggs signed a five-year contract valued at $72 million; Thielen is in the midst of four-year deal worth $19 million.

All of this evidence may prove to be circumstantial, but it’s hard not to get the feeling that Diggs is about to become the Vikings’ most productive receiver, if Diggs and Cousins stay healthy.

“I think he’s had a really good camp,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said of Diggs. “We have to continue to look for ways to get him the ball, but I think he’s got a chance to have a really good season.

“Hopefully, he stays healthy. He’s running good routes. He’s catching the ball well. He’s working really hard. So … hopefully.”

Another sign of Diggs’ rise: Cousins seems willing to throw to him even when he’s not open. Twice in the preseason game against Seattle, Cousins targeted Diggs downfield on the right sideline. On the first attempt, Diggs was blanketed and Cousins underthrew, giving Diggs no chance to make a play. On the next, Cousins threw a “back shoulder” pass for a completion, allowing Diggs to work free while the ball was in the air.

Unlike college quarterbacks, NFL passers are not always given the luxury of waiting for a receiver to get open. They often have to throw the ball while the receiver appears to be covered. To do so effectively requires trust and cohesiveness between a quarterback and receiver. There are early signs that Cousins and Diggs are developing that kind of relationship.

Thielen is 28, in his prime. Diggs is 24, and entering his prime. There is no indication that Thielen will regress at this stage of his career. He runs excellent routes, runs well after the catch, is willing and able to catch the ball in traffic and times his leaps exceptionally well.

But this may prove to be Diggs’ turn to take the statistical lead. He’s the most talented receiver on the roster, and the Vikings didn’t give him $72 million to be the latest incarnation of Hassan Jones. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Pressure builds for a Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen repeat as NFL's best deep-threat tandem

By Andrew Krammer

The Vikings feature two of the league’s top five receiver deep threats. 2017 catch rate statistics say so, and the Vikings are the only NFL team that can make that boast.

No receiving duo was better than Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Diggs caught 50 percent of deep balls thrown his way, according to Pro Football Focus, and Thielen caught 45.5 percent.

They’re not going to catch any opponent by surprise this year after Thielen’s breakout 2017 and Diggs’ $40 million in guarantees on a five-year extension signed this offseason.

Thielen already has seen the difference from just two years ago, when some Bengals defensive backs refused to take reps against him in a joint practice, saying they wanted to go against “some dogs.” In their preseason matchup, the Jaguars’ reigning No. 2 defense knew to respect Thielen.

“I think the only thing is that maybe this year they wanted to go against me to try and say, ‘Oh, he’s not that good,’ ” Thielen said. “Or try to shut me down because of what I’ve done in the past.”

But quarterback Kirk Cousins is going to need good protection to throw the ball farther than 20 yards.

That’s why there’s no position group more important for the 2018 Vikings offense than its line, which enters the Sept. 9 opener against San Francisco a patchworked group featuring two new guards — Tom Compton and Mike Remmers — and likely a new center until Pat Elflein returns healthy from a troublesome shoulder.

Cousins Needs a Strong Line At least statistically, Kirk Cousins went from a mediocre quarterback under pressure to top 10 when the Washington Redskins offensive line kept him clean. So goes the pressure applied to this year’s Vikings offensive line, which has a recently mediocre to downright poor history of keeping their quarterbacks free of defenders.

Year Player Dropbacks Pressured Rank

2017 Case Keenum 39.3% t-6th 2016 Sam Bradford 33.1% t-16th 2015 Teddy Bridgewater 46.7% 1st 2014 Teddy Bridgewater 39.7% 8th 2013 Christian Ponder/Matt Cassel 35.3% 23rd 2012 Christian Ponder 32.1% 19th

Kirk Cousins’ passer rating under pressure vs. kept clean

Year Pressure Ranking Clean Ranking 2017 19th 10th 2016 13th 8th 2015 17th 2nd

“If our five best guys were five tackles, and one tackle has to learn how to snap the football, you go play,” co-offensive line coach Clancy Barone said. “That kind of has to be the mind-set for us.”

The offensive line quietly improved last season but has changed in major ways: Position coach Tony Sparano died July 22; veteran center/guard Joe Berger retired; reserve guard/tackle Jeremiah Sirles left in free agency; Remmers, signed as a right tackle, moved to right guard; left guard Nick Easton is likely done for the season, again, with Compton taking his place. Center Brett Jones, the 27-year-old Canadian with 13 starts last season, was acquired from the Giants on Aug. 26 for a seventh-round pick.

Got all that?

That’s where Barone and Andrew Janocko, named co-line coaches, are left to work some magic.

Barone is a veteran coach who moved to the line after leading the Vikings’ tight ends. Janocko, 30, spent a season as Sparano’s assistant.

“He understood Tony’s thoughts on this guy was strong at this, not strong at this,” Barone said. “I can’t ask Tony, obviously. Andrew was in those meetings. He understands a lot of the backstory on these guys. … He’s a tremendous help in that regard.”

The Vikings will need his help — and that of the entire line — for the Diggs-Thielen tandem to repeat as dangerous deep threats. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson must channel the good Blair Walsh

By Ben Goessling

There will be a temptation for Vikings fans, until Daniel Carlson makes his first big kick, to look at the rookie and see Blair Walsh.

Like Walsh, Carlson kicked in the SEC and came to the Vikings after struggling with field-goal accuracy during his senior season more than any other in his college career. Like Walsh, Carlson impressed special teams coordinator Mike Priefer with his leg strength, showing it off in a pre-draft workout. And like they did after drafting Walsh, the Vikings released a veteran kicker following their fifth-round selection of Carlson this spring; Kai Forbath might not have been as accomplished as Ryan Longwell (whom the Vikings released for Walsh), but he got more time to compete with Carlson for the starting job than Longwell did against Walsh.

The parallels, obvious though they may be, might paint an overly simplified picture of what Carlson is facing as a rookie in Minnesota — and they might discount what Walsh did as a rookie, earning All-Pro honors while drilling 10 field goals of 50-plus yards in 2012 for a team that went from 3-13 to a playoff berth.

But for a fan base given to postseason jitters, Walsh will be remembered in Minnesota for one kick — his infamous 27-yard miss against the Seahawks in the 2016 NFC wild-card playoffs. And as Carlson assumes and extra-point duties for a team harboring Super Bowl aspirations, it’s possible the Vikings’ chances to overturn their fraught playoff history could rest on the rookie’s right leg in January.

“Blair, I like Blair a lot. I think Blair is a very, very good kicker. Blair was kind of, I don’t want to say a nervous personality, but Daniel is very calm,” Priefer said. “Because I think it worked for both guys. Blair, obviously had a phenomenal first year and he’s done some great things in this league. We hope Daniel can repeat the first year that Blair had. But, they’re two different kids and two different people.”

After pulling two field-goal attempts left in a preseason game against the Seahawks, Carlson talked after the game about his calm and focused demeanor. He’ll have to count on it in the coming months as the stakes on his field-goal attempts are raised.

“I think I’m very focused, and I do care a lot about my performance,” he said. “I want to be a perfectionist, so times like these are frustrating. But you got to keep your head up and do what you can to fix the next one, because there’s obviously nothing I can do about those kicks today. But I’m going to learn from it, move on and continue to try and be consistent and keep my head in every situation.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings secondary, linebackers have one option — adjust or fall prey again to run-pass option threat

By Andrew Krammer

The NFC Championship Game was tied 7-7 when Eagles quarterback Nick Foles pulled the ball from Jay Ajayi and threw to tight end Zach Ertz, converting a critical third-and-1 play. LeGarrette Blount rumbled in for an 11-yard touchdown on the next play and the rout of the Vikings was on in Philadelphia.

The Vikings’ loaded secondary — and their linebackers — spent this offseason studying run-pass option plays after the Eagles used the concept to perfection en route to a Lombardi Trophy. On that play, the Eagles used their biggest receiver, 6-foot-4 Mack Hollins, to run interference on Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who had been assigned man-to-man coverage on Ertz.

Foles made the right read while Ertz slipped under Hollins’ faux block and ran free for the easy first down.

The Vikings expect to see more run-pass option plays during the 2018 season — so much so they made it a point of emphasis this offseason to study how to defend those plays with the help of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who served as Eagles quarterbacks coach last season.

“I think it’s past anticipation,” Smith said. “I think everyone, or a lot of teams, are doing it in the preseason. So, it’s kind of the trend right now. It’s how football goes.”

With DeFilippo at the offense’s controls, the Vikings defense practiced its adjustments during specific run- pass option periods in training camp. Linebacker Anthony Barr said he’s got “a pretty good idea now, having studied it all offseason” of when they’re coming. Defending RPOs is about identifying the offense’s targeted defender — it was Smith in the aforementioned play against the Eagles — and adjusting to provide help.

“It could be anyone on a given play,” Barr said. “It’s all really about formations, understanding formations and where kind of the hole in the defense is when they start attacking you with RPOs and trying to help one another out. That’s a big thing.” PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Take a look at the Vikings' initial 53-man roster

By Andrew Krammer

The Vikings’ initial 53-man roster was set Saturday afternoon, and not without a couple surprises.

In a critical development, center Pat Elflein was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list and, according to a league source, is expected to return soon even though he likely won’t play in the Sept. 9 season opener against San Francisco.

The Vikings also placed veteran cornerback Terence Newman on the reserve/retired list and will transition him to an assistant coach in Mike Zimmer’s staff. Defensive end Brian Robison was also released after 11 NFL seasons for the Vikings.

Here’s the initial roster:

Quarterbacks (3): Kirk Cousins, Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter

Running backs/fullback (5): Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray, C.J. Ham, Mike Boone and Roc Thomas

Receivers (5): Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell, Brandon Zylstra and Stacy Coley

Tight ends (3): Kyle Rudolph, David Morgan and Tyler Conklin

Offensive linemen (9): Riley Reiff, Tom Compton, Pat Elflein, Mike Remmers, Rashod Hill, Brian O’Neill, Brett Jones, Aviante Collins and Danny Isidora

Defensive linemen (9): Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Stephen Weatherly, Tashawn Bower, Linval Joseph, Sheldon Richardson, Jaleel Johnson, David Parry and Jalyn Holmes

Linebackers (5): Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, , Eric Wilson and Devante Downs

Defensive backs (11): Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Mike Hughes, Marcus Sherels, Holton Hill, Harrison Smith, Andrew Sendejo, Anthony Harris, George Iloka and Jayron Kearse

Specialists (3): Daniel Carlson, Ryan Quigley and Kevin McDermott PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Boiling points for the Vikings offense in 2018

By Andrew Krammer

Health: Kirk Cousins needs to prolong his streak of 49 consecutive starts. Dalvin Cook is capable of being one of the NFL’s top dual-threat backs, if healthy. And the offensive line’s depth already is strained by injuries to Nick Easton and Pat Elflein.

Red-zone success: It’s no coincidence four of the NFL’s top five red-zone offenses last season — the Eagles, Vikings, Patriots and Jaguars — made conference championship appearances. Vikings coordinator John DeFilippo had a hand in Philadelphia’s game planning, and he’ll need to make his mark in Minnesota.

O-line’s pass protection: Cousins has a mediocre history of performing under pressure. Case Keenum faced a top-10 pressure rate last season, though he allowed that to produce only 22 sacks.

Time of possession: Only the Super Bowl champion Eagles exceeded the Vikings’ average possession of 32 minutes, 26 seconds per game last season. Moving the chains is key to keeping the defense fresh.

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Boiling points for the Vikings defense in 2018

By Andrew Krammer

Health: One reason the Vikings had the No. 1 defense was because they kept healthy players on the field, something that has to be a priority this season, too. Last year starters missed just three games because of injury: one by Everson Griffen and two by Andrew Sendejo.

Slot corner play: In Year 3, it’s time Mackensie Alexander fully developed into the primary slot cornerback the Vikings need. Alexander got beat on what would’ve been the fateful fourth-and-10 conversion by Saints quarterback Drew Brees in the playoffs. Now he’s leading a slot position that could see rotation between him, rookie Mike Hughes and veteran Terence Newman.

Finishing pass rush: The Vikings ranked a mediocre 17th in sacks with 37 last regular season. Finishing pressure with sacks can make life easier, and potentially force more turnovers.

Third downs: Last year’s 25 percent conversion rate on third downs against the Vikings was the lowest by an NFL defense since the league began tracking the stat in 1991. Maintaining that will go a long way toward another NFC North title and more. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings activate Pat Elflein from PUP list

By Ben Goessling

While the Vikings won’t have center Pat Elflein for the first week of the season, they’re not expected to be without him for long.

Elflein was be activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list on Saturday, and a league source said he will participate in practice this week. He won’t be ready for the Vikings’ regular-season opener against the 49ers, the source said, but shouldn’t be out long, provided he handles contact in practice without any issues.

Elflein had shoulder and ankle surgery this offseason, and has spent training camp on the PUP list, while the Vikings sorted through their other options at center. They started Danny Isidora in their fourth preseason game, while playing Brett Jones — whom they acquired in a trade with the Giants last week — at center in the second half. If all goes well with Elflein, however, the Vikings shouldn’t have to sort through their backup plans for long.

It’s big news for a Vikings team that has battled offensive line injuries throughout the preseason, losing Nick Easton to neck and back surgery and working without both Mike Remmers and Rashod Hill for part of the preseason.

Elflein stood out as a rookie, starting 14 games until the shoulder injury he first sustained against Atlanta caused him to miss two of the Vikings’ final four regular season games. He fractured his ankle in the NFC Championship Game, and has been working back from both injuries since. PUBLICATION: VIKING UPDATE DATE: 9/2/18

Pat Elflein set to return to practice

By Tim Yotter

The Minnesota Vikings will be getting a key piece back on their offensive line, at least in practice, as Pat Elflein is expected to come off the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list to start the season, as first reported by the Star Tribune.

Elflein had ankle and shoulder surgery in the offseason and hasn’t practiced in organized team activities, minicamp and training camp. He started training camp on the PUP list and spent his time there rehabbing the shoulder with exercises that ranged from pushing a light sled to lightly pushing on a blocking bag and throwing a medicine ball.

However, he wasn’t seen putting high-impact stress on his shoulder and he isn’t expected to play in Week 1. Instead, his return to practice on Monday will be the first true test of when he actually could return to game action, which isn’t expected to happen in Week 1.

Without Elflein and Nick Easton, who went on injured reserve during training camp after having surgery to repair a herniated disc, the Vikings moved Cornelius Edison into their starting lineup for preseason games. But last week the Vikings traded to acquire center Brett Jones from the New York Giants. Jones has some experience with the Vikings’ blocking schemes, as former Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was hired as the Giants’ head coach this year, putting Jones in that scheme during this offseason.

Last week, the Vikings started using Danny Isidora, a guard, as one of their centers. In the preseason finale, both Isidora and Jones got work at center as Edison was among those that didn’t dress for Thursday night’s game against the .

Head coach Mike Zimmer said at the start of training camp he thought Elflein wouldn’t be out long and said again last week he didn’t expect Elflein to start the season on the PUP list. This time, Zimmer appears to be correct, but it remains to be seen how long it is before Elflein is ready for game action.

When he does return, the Vikings will have improved depth on the interior of the offensive line.

With Elfelin out, Edison has gotten plenty of action at center and could move to guard. With Isidora at center to start Thursday night’s game, Jones, who started 13 games at center last year for the Giants, got action at guard, where he started one game for the Giants in 2016.

The Vikings have until 3 p.m. Central Time on Saturday afternoon to make their final roster cuts from 90 players all the way down to 53 and those started already on Friday. The team is coming off of a 3-1 preseason and the regular season kicks off Sept. 9 when the team welcomes the San Francisco 49ers to U.S. Bank Stadium. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

A look at undrafted CB Holton Hill’s journey to the Vikings’ roster

By Matthew Coller

Editor’s note: This article originally ran on July 24. With news that Holton Hill made the roster, we bring you the updated version:

At Houston Lamar prep school, Holton Hill was known as “Hollywood.” It’s somewhat of an ironic name considering he isn’t the type to hype himself. Instead he was known for his understated personality and ability to break a game open at any time.

“He’s a laid back, quiet kid, he’s humble,” Hill’s Lamar defensive backs coach Theadis Reagins said over the phone. “I think he’d like to have his actions speak more than his words. He’s super, super competitive and he has a lot of confidence with his skills, but he’s quiet with it though.”

Hill led the state of Texas in interceptions his senior year. In the playoffs, he picked off two passes, giving him 13 on the year, and returned a punt for a touchdown in win over Seven Lakes. After that, Reagins was sold on Hill being an NFL talent.

“Before the game — he didn’t know this — but some of those guys were saying he’s an overrated kid because he was one of the top rated kids in the state,” Reagins said. “That game he had a big interception for us on a third down, he had a punt return for a touchdown. He made two huge plays for us and I said, this kid is special. He’s going to be playing on the next level because of those plays.

Players aren’t supposed to look like they’re running in slow motion in Texas high school football, but on Hill’s highlight reel they did.

When the time came, Hill chose the Texas Longhorns over Alabama, LSU and Baylor.

Four years later, the dynamic defensive back who helped forge the nickname “DB Prep” for Houston Lamar sat through seven rounds of the NFL draft without being picked. Hill sat on the draft board as Green Bay picked a longsnapper and Jacksonville selected a punter in the seventh round instead of taking a chance on him.

The lack of interest on draft day(s) wasn’t because of his on-field performance at Texas. As a junior last year, he picked off two passes, scored two touchdowns, defended six passes and picked up 51 tackles in nine games.

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote of Hill’s game:

“Hill made tremendous strides as a cover man this year and has the potential to take yet another big step forward once he trusts his footwork and becomes less grabby. His instincts and physicality in run support could allow teams to consider moving him to safety at some point.”

Hill was passed over because Texas head coach Tom Herman suspended him for a violation of team rules on November 7 and then Hill reportedly tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Combine.

When some kids leave high school, a coach might worry about how they will handle the next step, but when Hill graduated from Lamar, Reagins did not expect “character issues” and Hill’s name to become synonymous.

“He’s a really smart kid,” Reagins said. “He always went to class, always did his homework. He never had any issues with his grades. That’s why he was able to go to the University of Texas, because of that. I was surprised he had those off-field issues. I never saw it coming. He always carried himself the right way, did everything right in school, went to class, did everything right on the field, he was coachable. It was more surprising to me than anything, those off-field problems.”

Holton Hill and coach Reagins“ You can see why Reagins would have been taken aback. In February 2015, Hill was one of five players in the nation to receive the Franklin D. Watkins award, which is presented to African American scholar- athletes. It’s chosen based on their unweighted grade point average, personal statements, extracurricular activities, community service and letters of recommendation.

Hill was a member of the National Honor Society and had a 3.5 grade point average.

When the Minnesota Vikings signed Hill as the No. 1 ranked (by ESPN) undrafted free agent, head coach Mike Zimmer said the team had been interested in Hill throughout the draft process.

“We’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Zimmer said. “He was here on a Top 30, we met him in Indianapolis. He’s a good football player, big, fast, tough, good tackler. We’ve had a lot of conversations with him. We’re excited, he’s got a chance. If he comes in here and do what we ask him to do, he’s got a chance.”

“We’ve done our due diligence,” Zimmer added. “We’ve talked with every one of his coaches he has ever had in his entire life, I think. We’ve talked to a lot of people at the University of Texas and we feel comfortable with the situation. But, it’s about the opportunity and what he does with that opportunity is up to him.”

Following minicamp, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Hill is getting help for his issue with marijuana.

Tom Pelissero ✔ @TomPelissero The #Vikings are pleased with top draft pick Mike Hughes. And keep an eye on another rookie CB: undrafted Holton Hill, who has starter ability if he can stay clean off the field. Hill told me he hasn’t smoked and feels better since getting help. @nflnetwork

3:52 PM - May 30, 2018 276 96 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy If you ranked every team in the NFL for a player with off-field problems to land, Minnesota would be toward the top. Last year, the Vikings selected Dalvin Cook in the second round and instantly him next to Teddy Bridgewater and Terence Newman in the locker room.

There are few organizations with the Vikings’ stability at head coach and with the level of established veteran leadership.

“I spoke with [Hil] about two weeks ago and he said he chose the Vikings for that very reason,” Reagins said. “He has a [college football] Hall of Famer as his position coach [Jerry Gray] that he took well upon. He wants to be coached by him. He gave the staff a lot of credit. That’s why he chose to go to Minnesota.”

“He loves coach Gray.”

The Vikings not only offer a good situation, but they have also built a reputation for developing young defensive backs. Under Zimmer, Xavier Rhodes has grown into a Pro Bowler and Trae Waynes took a significant step forward last season.

From afar, Reagins has been texting messages of encouragement to Hill.

“I told him to stay focused,” Reagins said. If he stays focused off the field, the on-the-field stuff is going to take care of itself.”

“I think he has to just go in and learn the system, the defense and focus on doing that and I think he’ll be successful because he has the skills and he’s a really smart kid,” Reagins added. “When he played at Texas you saw that he made plays on the field. So there’s no doubt he’s a playmaker at his position. He just has to take care of the off-field problems.”

Reagins said he believes the next step for Hill will be a successful one. And nobody is more confident than him that Hill will prove to be a difference maker in training camp.

“He’s definitely going to make the roster,” Reagins said emphatically. “He’s going make the roster.”

Update:

While Hill didn’t have the strongest preseason debut in Denver, he did catch the eye of teammates on the practice field early on in training camp.

“You can see he has the confidence,” receiver Stefon Diggs said. “At corner, guys are feeling their way around. He has that confidence and plays with it. I like him as a player and I like what he brings to the table.”

“Holton is good man,” cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. “Great guy. Chip on his shoulder. He is hungry. Actually, he pulled me to the side last night, asking me a question. That is the type of guy you want on the team, who is willing to learn, can do whatever it takes to be the best. I can see it in his eyes that he really wants it.”

Each week he improved and in the Vikings’ final preseason game, when Hill needed to be at his best, he came through in the same way he did at Lamar, picking up a 53-yard kick return against the Tennessee Titans, making several key tackles and flashing explosiveness on a deflected pass. In four preseason games, he finished with 14 tackles with four run stuffs and allowed nine catches in 14 attempts his way, according to Pro Football Focus.

“We just look for him to continually show progress that way, because he’s got the ability to stay on top of routes,” defensive coordinator George Edwards said. “He’s got the ability to cover, but understanding the techniques and fundamentals and doing it consistently every day is a big thing for him right now. We just look for him to continue to progress.”

On cutdown day, Holton Hill proved his former coach right by making the Vikings’ 53-man roster.

PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Zulgad’s 3-and-out: Will Vikings take opportunity to upgrade at kicker?

By Matthew Coller

The Vikings’ roster now sits at the regular-season limit of 53 players, although there are certainly more moves to come after Saturday’s cuts were announced. Here are three thoughts on what the Vikings did or what moves could be coming.

There’s a kicker

Rookie kicker Daniel Carlson made both of his field-goal attempts in the Vikings’ final preseason game on Thursday after he missed two kicks from 42 yards in the team’s third exhibition against Seattle.

Carlson, whose competition with veteran Kai Forbath ended a few weeks back when Forbath was released, appears on track to be the Vikings’ opening day kicker. That isn’t a surprise since general manager Rick Spielman traded up to take the former Auburn kicker in the fifth round of last April’s draft.

But is going with Carlson the best idea? Especially with a coach like Mike Zimmer who seems to have little patience for kickers, both young and old.

There is now a potential option on the market who could make the Vikings’ life easier.

The Dallas Cowboys cut ties with Dan Bailey, the best kicker in that franchise’s history, on Saturday in what NFL.com’s writer called a “stunning move.” Bailey had signed a seven-year, $22.5 million deal with the Cowboys in 2014 and had three years left on his contract.

Bailey’s 186 career field goals are a Cowboys record and his 88.2 field-goal percentage is second in NFL history to Justin Tucker of Baltimore. A groin injury slowed the 30-year-old Bailey last season — he hit a career-low 75 percent of his field-goal attempts — but when he’s healthy he’s extremely reliable. Bailey missed two point-after-attempts last season but had never missed one in his seven-year career before that.

Bailey, entering his eighth NFL season, will be a free agent and won’t have to go through the waiver process.

If Bailey would be willing to sign a contract for a reasonable price, in exchange for joining a team that is among the favorites in the NFC, his presence could help Zimmer’s blood pressure.

A cruel game

Zimmer is a loyal coach who clearly becomes attached to his veteran players, but it appears that attachment doesn’t run deep enough to make emotional decisions over logical ones.

The decision to cut defensive end Brian Robison on Saturday proved that to be the case. The Vikings issued statements from Zimmer, Spielman and ownership on Robison, but they still cut a guy who took a $2.1 million pay cut this spring to remain with the Vikings and was set to make $1.1 million this season.

Robison, a fourth-round pick in the 2007 draft, is 35 years old and was entering his 12th season. He was popular in the locker room and had been expected to serve in a back-up role in which he would provide depth off the bench.

The Vikings decided to go with younger defensive linemen who are still developing. The move might not be a popular one with fans — or some of Robison’s teammates — but it was absolutely the right call for a team that is aiming for a Super Bowl and also wants to keep developing players.

There was a time when Zimmer might not have elected to cut a guy like Robison, but the NFL is a brutal business in which loyalty can only be taken so far. The Vikings made the right decision by not showing a misguided loyalty to Robison on Saturday.

Wright was the wrong call

It’s amazing that every offseason the Vikings seem to bring in at least one player whom fans and media get excited about only to see that guy get cut before he ever plays in a regular-season game.

The latest addition to that list was wide receiver Kendall Wright, who was released on Saturday. Wright was signed to a modest one-year, $1 million contract by the Vikings in late March after spending a season with the Chicago Bears.

The 28-year-old Wright caught 59 passes for 614 yards and a touchdown with Chicago in his sixth season in the NFL after playing his first five years with the Tennessee Titans.

The expectation was that Kendall Wright would take over the role that the often-underappreciated Jarius Wright had played in Minnesota. That meant getting some snaps as a slot receiver and playing behind Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and even Laquon Treadwell at times.

But Kendall Wright did not play special teams, something that was a strike against him, and he did little to stand out once training camp started. He caught only one pass for 9 yards in the preseason and is now looking for work.

The Vikings ended up keeping five wide receivers, including Diggs, Thielen, Treadwell, Stacy Coley and Brandon Zylstra. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them make a move at that spot in order to add more veteran depth before the regular-season opener. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

With final cuts in, here is the Minnesota Vikings’ depth chart

By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings announced their final roster cuts on Saturday afternoon. Here is the current depth chart:

Quarterback Starter: Kirk Cousins

Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter

Running back Starter: Dalvin Cook

Latavius Murray, Mike Boone, CJ Ham, Roc Thomas

Wide receiver Starters: Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Laquon Treadwell

Brandon Zylstra, Stacy Coley

Tight end Starter: Kyle Rudolph

David Morgan, Tyler Conklin

Tackle Starters: Riley Reiff, Rashod Hill

Aviante Collins, Brian O’Neill

Guard Starters: Mike Remmers, ??????

Brett Jones, Tom Compton, Danny Isidora

Center Starter: Pat Elflein

Defensive end Starters: Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter

Stephen Weatherly, Tashawn Bower

Defensive tackle Starters: Linval Joseph, Sheldon Richardson

Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes, David Parry

Linebacker Starters: Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks

Eric Wilson, Devante Downs, Ben Gedeon

Cornerback Starters: Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander

Mike Hughes, Marcus Sherels, Holton Hill

Safety Starters: Harrison Smith, Andrew Sendejo

George Iloka, Anthony Harris, Jayron Kearse

Special teams:

Ryan Quigley, Daniel Carlson, Kevin McDermott

PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings’ decisions at receiver center on Treadwell’s growth

By Matthew Coller

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Minnesota Vikings are moving on from veteran wide receiver Kendall Wright, who signed in the offseason after spending last year with the Chicago Bears. That means the Vikings have just three wide receivers with previous NFL catches. Two of them are stars — Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs — the other, Laquon Treadwell, showed enough progress this offseason for the team to feel confident releasing Wright.

Treadwell had just 20 catches for 200 yards last season — which was a step up from his rookie year, but quarterbacks Case Keenum and Sam Bradford registered just a 52.6 quarterback rating when throwing in his direction.

But he has looked like a different player in training camp working with quarterback Kirk Cousins. During a sideline interview on the Vikings’ broadcast during their preseason win over the Tennessee Titans, Treadwell alluded to finding better chemistry with Cousins.

“He’s a vocal leader, he’s very smart. His understanding of the game is really [second] to none,” Treadwell said. “He breaks down the game in a different way in the film room, and he’s vocal in the meetings also. That helps us a lot as receivers to see how the quarterback wants it to be. That’s something we haven’t had in past years here, but he came in and made sure he let us know that’s who he is, and that’s who he’s been since he’s been here.”

Cousins was very complimentary of Treadwell when he was asked about his growth in early August.

“You just see the numbers or the lack of production in the first couple of seasons, but I get out here and see a guy that comes to work every day, knows the play, knows the system, has a good sense of the game, has made aggressive tough catches, and has run a variety of routes and really shown up on all of them and schematically he is getting the football a lot,” Cousins said.

Treadwell was drafted in the first round in 2016 on the basis of his strength and ability to win 50-50 balls thrown his way. The former Ole Miss star hasn’t shown that early in his career, but he also needed significant development when it came to the details of route running.

At the NFL Combine, head coach Mike Zimmer indicated that Treadwell needed to focus on things that mattered most to success. At just 23 years old, it appears the Vikings believe he has done that and taken that next step.

However, that doesn’t mean Treadwell is set to have a major breakout season. Last year he played the majority of snaps over Jarius Wright and Michael Floyd, but was rarely targeted. He was a better fit as an outside receiver, allowing Thielen and Diggs to mix into the slot.

The Vikings will also mix personnel packages regularly, putting in No. 2 tight end David Morgan and well- liked fullback CJ Ham regularly.

Other receivers like Stacy Coley, a high-ceiling seventh-rounder from 2017, and former CFL star Brandon Zylstra are also reportedly making the team. They could also find regular roles, taking some snaps away from Treadwell.

Overall it appears Wright simply wasn’t a fit for the Vikings because he was one-dimensional as a slot receiver and did not play special teams. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

What Brian Robison’s release says about the Vikings’ D-line depth

By Matthew Coller

Brian Robison is one of the best stories of the past decade-plus for the Minnesota Vikings.

As a fourth-round pick in 2007, he grinded away as a situational player for the first four years of his career and was pegged as too small to be a full-time defensive end. It wasn’t until 2011 that Robison finally got his shot and proved himself worthy of starting duty with 8.0 sacks. Between his first year as a starter and last season, B-Rob played in all but two games and racked up 46.5 sacks.

This year was expected to be his final season in purple, but instead the Vikings will not be keeping him on the 53-man roster.

Robison appears to be a victim of his team’s success in finding depth defensive linemen. That starts with Danielle Hunter, who signed a mega deal to stay with the Vikings long term in the offseason. Hunter, who is just 24, will be taking the vast majority of snaps at defensive end.

It would have seemed that B-Rob could still hold down a situational role, but several younger players who also contribute to special teams have also made strides during camp and preseason.

Stephen Weatherly, a raw prospect with great athleticism and high IQ who was drafted in 2016, has barely seen the field aside from special teams in his first two years, but in this year’s preseason he was dominant. According to Pro Football Focus, Weatherly racked up two sacks, seven QB hits and five hurries, good for a total of 14 pressures in just 77 preseason pass rush snaps. He added six run stops.

Tashawn Bower posted five QB pressures in just 38 pass rush snaps. He has shown growth and potential from the time he signed as an undrafted free agent last season.

Jalyn Holmes, this year’s fourth-round pick from Ohio State, might also play into the equation as a player the Vikings like as an inside pass rusher down the road and needed to make room for him to stay.

There’s also the possibility that Robison is gone in part because of a domino effect from the signing of safety George Iloka. Adding the former Bengal could open up Anthony Barr to slide down to edge rusher, eliminating the need for another defensive end. Iloka can either play deep safety or up in the box because of his size and tackling ability. So in certain situations — ones in which B-Rob would have played in the past — we could see Iloka or even Harrison Smith filling a linebacker role while Barr chases the passer.

The Vikings could also add another proven pass rusher who hits the market. The Cowboys released ex- Panther and Cincinnati parted ways with veteran Michael Johnson. Either could be of interest if the Vikings aren’t completely satisfied with the current state of the D-line.

As the Vikings go forward, they have to make every decision possible to have the best 53-man roster they can, even of B-Rob’s presence alone would have been a positive. His release is a sign of the times as the Vikings head into 2018 with the highest of expectations. It’s also a sign that their strategy is signing/drafting young project D-linemen is working.

The team released the following statements on the release of Robison:

Vikings Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf

“Throughout our ownership of the Minnesota Vikings, players like Brian Robison have made our journey special. Brian meant as much to the community as he did to our football team. He is an exceptional person and always carries himself with such class and character. We are honored to have Brian represent the Vikings for the past 11 seasons.”

Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman

“Brian Robison exemplifies exactly what we strive for as Minnesota Vikings. From the moment he arrived he proved to be a tireless worker, a great teammate, and most importantly, a leader on and off the field. Along with being one of the best to ever wear a Vikings uniform, Brian has an uncanny ability to connect with everyone he meets and a magnetic personality that commands respect. We will miss Brian but he will forever be a Minnesota Viking. On behalf of the entire organization, we want to thank Brian, Jayme and the entire Robison family for their immeasurable impact on our team and our community.”

Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer

“Brian has been one of the best leaders I’ve seen in my career and I’m happy I got the opportunity to coach him. He’s been such a great player for us and an even better help building the kind of culture we want with this team. Brian will be missed but his influence will continue to be felt on this team going forward.” PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings cut veteran defensive end Brian Robison

By Matthew Coller

The Vikings announced Saturday that veteran defensive end Brian Robison was released in the cut down from 90 to 53 players.

Robison, a fourth-round pick by the Vikings in 2007, had 60 sacks in 173 games with Minnesota.

The Vikings have had several young players on the defensive line step up during training camp, including defensive ends Tashawn Bower and Stephen Weatherly.

Robison was set to make $1.1 million this season after taking a $2.1 million pay cut last spring to remain with the Vikings.

The Vikings issued three tweets regarding Robison. PUBLICATION: 1500 ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Terence Newman announces retirement, will join Vikings’ coaching staff

By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings announced Saturday that cornerback Terence Newman will retire from the NFL and join the team’s coaching staff, effective immediately. His exact role is not yet announced.

Newman, who played for Mike Zimmer for three different teams (Dallas from 2003-06, Cincinnati from 2012-13 and Minnesota from 2015 on) has appeared in 221 career games with 205 starts in his 15-year career.

So could Newman come out of retirement this season if the Vikings need him? The answer is no.

Newman long has been a mentor to young cornerbacks such as Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander and most recently Mike Hughes. PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings position-group breakdowns: An offensive line with something to prove

By Arif Hasan

The Vikings have made no bones about the fact that they can find ways to get better and younger at the same time.

Traditionally a team that stocks itself with reliable veterans, this year the Vikings’ oldest player will be only 31 years old when Week 1 kicks off — and that includes the specialists and quarterback positions — after Saturday’s finalization of the 53-man roster. The surprising release of Brian Robison and retirement of Terence Newman show confidence on the Vikings’ part that their young players can more than fill in the gaps in case of emergency.

Let’s break down some of the more notable moves.

Brian Robison and the defensive line The Vikings cut 11-year veteran Brian Robison, the last remaining member of the 2009 team that competed in that year’s NFC championship game with Brett Favre at the helm.

Robison was an underrated member of the defense in that span, consistently generating pressure and stops in the run game. Between 2009 and 2017, Robison had the 13th-most pressures in the NFL among edge rushers — according to Pro Football Focus — ahead of luminaries like Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs, Dwight Freeney, Mario Williams and teammate Everson Griffen.

Between 2011 and 2015 — the years he started and played consistently — he ranked sixth among all edge defenders in pressures, ahead of Jared Allen, Tamba Hali, Dumervil, Charles Johnson, Demarcus Ware, Cliff Avril, Julius Peppers, Justin Houston and Griffen.

When combining all disruptions — pressures, run stops and pass deflections — Robison ranks ninth in that span.

Last year, Robison played 562 snaps, generating a pressure every 10 pass-rushing snaps, which wasn’t bad but did leave room for improvement. This offseason, we’ve seen significant growth from seventh- round pick Stephen Weatherly and undrafted free agent Tashawn Bower, and the Vikings have decided to take that development on faith.

In the preseason, Weatherly generated a pressure once every 5.3 snaps while Bower did so once every 7.4 snaps. Robison created one pressure in 37 snaps. The Vikings won’t expect Bower and Weatherly’s impressive pace to continue at the same rate into the season, but it speaks to what they’re investing in with the veteran gone.

Arif Hasan ✔ @ArifHasanNFL Robison's career is a testament to the Vikings' philosophy of finding incredible athletes at the edge later in the draft and developing them with talented DL coaches. Succeeding him are a 7th-round pick and an undrafted free agent -- both impressive athletes in their own right.

12:20 PM - Sep 1, 2018 183 20 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy The Vikings also have a hybrid defensive end/tackle in 2018 fourth-round pick Jalyn Holmes that can serve as emergency depth, and hope to add another end/tackle hybrid to the practice squad in Ifeadi Odenigbo. Both had very impressive preseasons and it may prove difficult for the Vikings to sneak Odenigbo past waivers. They may also use Anthony Barr more often on the edge, giving the Vikings even more shadow depth at the position.

The defensive line has been a big part of the defense, but the smart, cheap investments they keep making at the position continuously free up space for them to spend draft resources elsewhere.

Terence Newman and the defensive backs The Vikings had a lot of tough decisions to make at both cornerback and safety, and they needed to clear up some room to make way for the talented depth at cornerback and juggle a suddenly full safety room. Newman’s retirement clarifies the cornerback situation for the Vikings and makes it easier to roster their promising developmental talent.

Pro Football Focus data only goes back to 2006, which means it doesn’t capture the first three years of Newman’s career. Since 2006, he’s taken 9,953 snaps of regular-season football. In the last two years, despite playing at 38 and 39 years old, he ranked seventh of 134 cornerbacks in adjusted yards given up per snap in coverage. He’s been a big part of the Vikings’ plans for maintaining depth at the position and provided invaluable help as a presence in the locker room.

By remaining with the team as a coach, Newman can still accomplish one of the goals he set out to achieve when he decided to join the team for one more year — earn a ring. There weren’t many reasons for the veteran cornerback to return, but the appeal of a Super Bowl victory was a big factor in his decision to re-up.

Now, the Vikings will rely on some combination of Mike Hughes or Mackensie Alexander to provide outside depth and nickel support. Alexander looks to have improved significantly in camp, and has done a better job maintaining position against the receivers the Vikings could field — including Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The Vikings must have decided that the growth he’s seemingly shown in practice has some meaning; he only participated in 11 snaps in the preseason, so they will have to rely on their practice evaluations.

Mike Hughes looks phenomenal and could crack the depth chart as one of the top two cornerbacks in due time, and the Vikings were happy enough with their ability to play now that they could roster Marcus Sherels for his special teams prowess and Holton Hill for his potential.

At safety, they were able to keep five players, which meant that Jayron Kearse’s position was ultimately not in jeopardy with the addition of George Iloka.

Beebe out, Zylstra in at wide receiver Former Northern Illinois receiver Chad Beebe made waves late in the preseason and in camp, but didn’t show enough consistency across his time in the offseason to earn a 53-man roster spot, though he’s likely to earn a practice squad salary with Minnesota.

Cutting him opens up space for the Vikings to roster Brandon Zylstra, a standout CFL receiver who made his presence known in camp, often rotating in with the second team and outperforming his peers against a talented second tier of cornerbacks.

Without Cayleb Jones in the offing and with Kendall Wright released to make room elsewhere, the Vikings will have to rely on a fairly young group of backups with Stacy Coley — who looked fantastic in the week that he was healthy in practices — and Zylstra. In 2015, that group of backups to start the season consisted of Diggs and Thielen. Though it would be absurd to hope for anything remotely similar in terms of development, the recent history of the position is certainly encouraging.

There are two RB3s The Vikings seemingly needed to make a decision between Roc Thomas and Mike Boone, and that decision was supposed to come down to the wire. Instead, the Vikings opted to keep both running backs in addition to the three others they were expected to keep: Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray and fullback C.J. Ham. Both demonstrated incredible potential, and could develop into Murray replacements before long. The Vikings like the pass-catching potential of both running backs, and Thomas and Boone also demonstrated the ability to run through contact and functional vision. Should Cook go down again, the Vikings have a very talented stable to draw upon.

J Reid @JReidNFL Every Mike Boone run against the Jaguars. The rookie UDFA from Cincinnati has been very impressive so far.

8:19 AM - Aug 20, 2018 236 59 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy It’s still possible that the Vikings extract some value from either of them by trading one to a desperate team — or at the very least holding on until they see if there’s talent hitting the waiver wire.

Linebacker depth still lacking The fourth linebacker for the Vikings — Eric Wilson — looks exciting and capable of playing at a starting level. Their fifth linebacker, which should be a special teams maven, doesn’t inspire confidence but could have long-term potential. Devante Downs’ season was cut short in his final year of college, and he earned two Pac-12 defensive player of the week awards before that injury. In camp, he’s demonstrated significant athletic potential and moves extremely well for a player of his size.

Downs didn’t demonstrate a good grasp of the defense in the preseason, but he’s made few mistakes on special teams. He hasn’t been as capable or active on special teams as Reshard Cliett or Antwione Williams — both released — but neither of them possess the combination of size and athleticism that makes Downs intriguing.

The Vikings, who have struggled on special teams in every preseason game, have chosen not to overcorrect by stuffing their depth chart with the best special-teamers, instead balancing that with long- term potential and Day 1 depth.

PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings’ 53-man roster: Brian Robison released, Terence Newman retires

By Zack Pierce

The Vikings on Saturday released defensive end Brian Robison, just a week before he was to begin his 12th and final NFL season, all with Minnesota.

Robison confirmed the news, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, in a tweet. The Vikings released an official statement later Saturday.

View image on Twitter View image on Twitter

Brian Robison ✔ @Brian_Robison Sad Day! I love you Vikings Fans, teammates, coaches and all I have come in contact with over the years. This one hurts, but it’s not goodbye. More like see you later. Thank you @Vikings for 11 amazing years and one opportunity. Formal letter to come soon.

12:42 PM - Sep 1, 2018 17.2K 3,856 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy “Brian Robison exemplifies exactly what we strive for as Minnesota Vikings,” general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement. “From the moment he arrived he proved to be a tireless worker, a great teammate, and most importantly, a leader on and off the field.”

It was the first surprise news to trickle out as the Vikings finalized their 53-man roster for the season. Later Saturday afternoon, the team also announced that 15-year cornerback Terence Newman was retiring and joining the coaching staff.

Also released Saturday were running back Mack Brown; wide receivers Jeff Badet, Chad Beebe, Tavarres King and Kendall Wright; tight ends Blake Bell and Tyler Hoppes; center Cornelius Edison; guards Josh Andrews and Colby Gossett; offensive tackle Storm Norton; cornerbacks Craig James and Horace Richardson; safeties Tray Matthews and Jack Tocho; linebackers Reshard Cliett and Garret Dooley; defensive tackle Curtis Cothran; and defensive ends Ifeadi Odenigbo and Jonathan Wynn.

Despite stepping out of a starting role in 2017 and nearly retiring after the season, Robison was still projected by many to make the roster for one more shot at the Super Bowl he’s twice come one game short of reaching.

But with a loaded defensive line unit, the Vikings ultimately decided to move on from the departing Robison, opening up opportunities for some of the team’s younger players at the position.

In 2017, Robison was forced to take a $1.4 million pay cut to remain with the Vikings, though they added the 2018 season to his contract. Then again this spring, before what Robison hoped would be one of his best chances at winning the Super Bowl, the Vikings wanted him to take another pay cut.

He thought he might just retire. But as his training continued, Robison couldn’t shed the idea of chasing a Super Bowl, even if it meant a second pay cut in as many years. He restructured his deal, taking a $2.3 million hit to remain with the Vikings this season.

“I just wasn’t ready to hang it up yet,” Robison, 35, said in May. “I figured I needed to give it one more shot and I was ready to go. But it was a tough decision and something I had to sit back and think about what was right not only for me, but my family. And I ended up making the right decision.”

Robison was the longest-tenured member of the Vikings, part of five playoff teams and two NFC championship game appearances. A fourth-round draft pick out of Texas in 2007, he was on the team that lost to the Saints in the 2009 prelude to the Super Bowl in addition to last year’s team that fell to the Eagles.

He missed just three games in his 11 seasons in Minnesota and was a regular starter from 2011-2016 before returning to a backup role a year ago. He’ll now become a free agent.

Robison was the elder statesman in an otherwise young group competing for backup minutes behind starters Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter, including Weatherly (24), Bower (23), and 2018 fourth-round draft pick Holmes (22). Those three all made the final roster.

Newman, who will turn 40 next week, was competing for time in one of the deepest position groups on the team. He had played under Mike Zimmer in his previous career stops in Dallas and Cincinnati.

The team said further details about his role would be announced in the future.

A Pro Bowler with the Cowboys in 2007 and again in 2009, Newman came to the Vikings in 2015 and started all 16 games. He started 17 of the 31 games he appeared in the last two seasons.

Beebe — the son of former NFL wide receiver Don Beebe — had a strong camp and preseason and also seemed a strong candidate to make the roster. The Vikings were hoping to keep him for the practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Center Pat Elflein was activated from the physically unable to perform list, a sign that he’s close to returning to an offensive line that could use the boost.

Final 53-man roster Here’s the final roster, by position.

QBs (3)

Kirk Cousins, Trevor Siemian, Kyle Sloter

RBs (5)

Mike Boone, Dalvin Cook, C.J. Ham, Latavius Murray, Roc Thomas

WRs (5)

Stacy Coley, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Laquon Treadwell, Brandon Zylstra

TEs (3)

Tyler Conklin, David Morgan, Kyle Rudolph

OL (9)

Aviante Collins, Tom Compton, Pat Elflein, Rashod Hill, Danny Isidora, Brett Jones, Riley Reiff, Brian O’Neill, Mike Remmers

DL (9)

Tashawn Bower, Everson Griffen, Jalyn Holmes, Danielle Hunter, Jaleel Johnson, Linval Joseph, David Parry, Sheldon Richardson, Stephen Weatherly

LB (5)

Anthony Barr, Devante Downs, Ben Gedeon, Eric Kendricks, Eric Wilson

CB (6)

Mackensie Alexander, Mike Hughes, Xavier Rhodes, Marcus Sherels, Trae Waynes, Holton Hill

S (5)

Anthony Harris, George Iloka, Jayron Kearse, Andrew Sendejo, Harrison Smith

Specialists (3)

Daniel Carlson (K), Kevin McDermott (LS), Ryan Quigley (P)

For more, check out Arif Hasan’s breakdown of the most notable moves from Saturday’s final cutdown.

Chad Graff contributed to this report. PUBLICATION: ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings activate Pat Elflein off PUP, cut DE Brian Robison

By Courtney Cronin

The Minnesota Vikings parted ways with 37 players on Friday and Saturday, trimming their roster to the NFL-mandated 53 players. Here’s a closer look at the final moves:

Robison released after 11 seasons: One of Minnesota’s biggest moves on Saturday was the surprising cut of veteran defensive end Brian Robison. The depth the Vikings have along the defensive line with their young pass-rushers led them to part ways with Robison, who took a $2 million pay cut ahead of OTAs because he hoped to bring a Super Bowl title to the state of Minnesota. The preseason performances strung together by Stephen Weatherly and Tashawn Bower edged Robison out of the mix and provide the Vikings with ample depth behind Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter. There’s also an element of the situational pass rush that is expected to be provided by linebacker Anthony Barr, who took on more responsibilities as an edge rusher in camp. Robison was originally drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round in 2007 and became a full-time starter in 2011. He was replaced in the lineup by Hunter last season but had an integral role in the rotation, playing 56 percent of snaps and recording four sacks in 2017. The Vikings decided to roll with nine defensive linemen, parting ways with Ifeadi Odenigbo, whose position flexibility could help him land on another team’s roster by Sunday, and deciding to keep David Parry as depth behind Linval Joseph at nose tackle.

Elflein comes off PUP: The second-year center sat out the entire preseason while rehabbing from ankle and shoulder surgeries but won’t have to miss the required first six weeks of the season that comes with starting the year on the PUP list. Putting Elflein on the active roster indicates the Vikings believe his return is not far off, though he’s still not expected to play Week 1. It’s an important piece of news for an offensive line that has been affected by injuries across all positions except left tackle. The Vikings kept nine offensive linemen, with Brett Jones and Danny Isidora serving as reserve options at center. There’s still a belief that the Vikings could add another guard to the mix in the coming days.

Newman retires: Hours after the Robison news, Minnesota announced it would go into the 2018 season without another veteran player following the retirement of cornerback Terence Newman. Effective immediately, Newman is joining the Vikings' coaching staff in a role that will be detailed at a later date. Newman provided the secondary with depth at every position and was expected to slide into a reserve DB role this season. He took on more reps at safety during the spring offseason program and filled in at nickel corner when Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes got injured at the tail end of the preseason. The move helped Minnesota with its numbers in the secondary, allowing the Vikings to keep 11 defensive backs (six corners and five safeties).

Vikings roll with five receivers: The not-so-shocking cut of Kendall Wright points to the belief Minnesota has in former first-rounder Laquon Treadwell. The Ole Miss product beat out Wright in the preseason and appears ready to take the next step. Given the flexibility Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen give Minnesota in the slot and lined up outside, the Vikings put a bigger emphasis on keeping a big-body receiver like Brandon Zylstra, whose physicality matches that of Treadwell and is an important asset in the red zone. Despite nagging injuries that prevented him from participating in a bulk of the preseason, Stacy Coley’s high ceiling and strong debut against Denver earned him a spot among the five receivers. Both Zylstra and Coley are also assets on special teams -- unlike Wright -- which is something coach Mike Zimmer said would factor into the decision for the final receiver spots.

Hill’s late push earns him a spot: Holton Hill, Minnesota’s top undrafted free agent, struggled throughout much of the preseason, but a big performance in the final game against Tennessee was enough to get him a spot on the 53-man roster. While Hill is still learning press technique and how to challenge routes, the Vikings hope the player they gave $85,000 ahead of rookie camp will one day pan out as an important contributor for the league’s top defense.

Rookie rushers make the team: Mike Boone and Roc Thomas round out an explosive backfield. The two UDFAs put on an impressive display in their fight to become the No. 3 running back, and it appears that will carry over into the regular season. Their respective skill sets provide Minnesota with multiple options for a change-of-pace back behind Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray. Both rookies were used as receivers throughout the preseason, a role all Vikings running backs will be asked to take on this season.

Vikings moves: Released: QB Peter Pujals, RB Mack Brown (injured), RB Kobe McCrary, FB Luke McNitt, WR Jeff Badet, WR Chad Beebe, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Tavarres King (injured), WR Korey Robertson, WR Jake Wieneke, WR Kendall Wright, TE Blake Bell, TE Tyler Hoppes, C Cornelius Edison, C J.P. Quinn, G Josh Andrews (injured), G Kareem Are, G Colby Gossett, G Kaleb Johnson, T Dieugot Joseph, T Storm Norton, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, DE Brian Robison, DE Jonathan Wynn, DT Curtis Cothran, LB Reshard Cliett, LB Garret Dooley, LB Mike Needham, LB Brett Taylor, LB Antwione Williams, CB Craig James, CB Trevon Mathis, CB Horace Richardson, CB Jack Tocho, S Tray Matthews. Reserved/injured: DE Ade Aruna, G Nick Easton, T Cedrick Lang, DE Hercules Mata'afa, TE Josiah Price, FB Johnny Stanton. Reserved/retired: CB Terence Newman. Reserved/suspended: LB Kentrell Brothers.

PUBLICATION: ESPN DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings release DE Brian Robison; CB Terence Newman retires

By Courtney Cronin

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings released veteran defensive end Brian Robison on cut-down day Saturday, while cornerback Terence Newman decided to call it quits three days shy of his 40th birthday.

Also Saturday, the Vikings activated second-year center Pat Elflein off the physically unable to perform list. He has spent the entire preseason sidelined while rehabbing from ankle and shoulder surgeries.

Per a source, Elflein will not be ready to play Week 1 when the Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers but is eyeing a return at some point in the coming weeks. Minnesota signed former Giants center/guard Brett Jones last week and waived center Cornelius Edison during roster cuts on Saturday. Jones or Danny Isidora, both of whom played center in the Vikings' preseason finale at Tennessee, will be relied on to fill Elflein's absence.

The Vikings announced Newman's retirement on Saturday and, effective immediately, that the cornerback will join the coaching staff. Details on Newman's exact role will be provided at a later date.

Robison, who spent the past 11 seasons with Minnesota after being drafted by the Vikings in 2007, took a $2 million pay cut to return in 2018 after restructuring his contract before OTAs. He was the longest- tenured member of the roster.

The Vikings cleared $1.105 million in salary-cap space by releasing Robison.

Robison reacted to the news on Twitter.

View image on Twitter View image on Twitter

Brian Robison ✔ @Brian_Robison Sad Day! I love you Vikings Fans, teammates, coaches and all I have come in contact with over the years. This one hurts, but it’s not goodbye. More like see you later. Thank you @Vikings for 11 amazing years and one opportunity. Formal letter to come soon.

12:42 PM - Sep 1, 2018 17.2K 3,863 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy "Brian has been one of the best leaders I've seen in my career, and I'm happy I got the opportunity to coach him. He's been such a great player for us and an even better help building the kind of culture we want with this team. Brian will be missed, but his influence will continue to be felt on this team going forward," coach Mike Zimmer said in a statement.

The 35-year-old noted that his decision to return was "tough" after he considered retirement after the Vikings' 13-3 season in 2017. His quest to bring a championship to the state of Minnesota is what he said drove him to come back despite a reduced salary.

"It's a business, and this business is very cutthroat, and there's a lot of business moves that even the guys up in the front office, they don't always want to do, but it's just part of the business that they have to do," Robison said in May. "I don't really have any animosity towards them. As far as I'm concerned, it was a decision that I had to make for me and my family. It was a decision that really rested solely upon me. I had the option of not coming back, but at the end of the day, this is the place that I wanted to be."

Robison's release reflects the depth the Vikings have along the defensive line. Both Stephen Weatherly and Tashawn Bower are considered the team's top reserve pass-rushers. After strong preseason performances, the two defensive ends are expected to be first in line behind Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter as the Vikings aim to build a rotation along the D-line.

Robison ends his time as a Viking with 60 recorded sacks and 289 career tackles. Last season, Robison played 56 percent of snaps and recorded four sacks from his reserve role.

"Brian Robison exemplifies exactly what we strive for as Minnesota Vikings. From the moment he arrived, he proved to be a tireless worker, a great teammate and, most importantly, a leader on and off the field. Along with being one of the best to ever wear a Vikings uniform, Brian has an uncanny ability to connect with everyone he meets and a magnetic personality that commands respect," Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in the statement.

"We will miss Brian, but he will forever be a Minnesota Viking. On behalf of the entire organization, we want to thank Brian, Jayme and the entire Robison family for their immeasurable impact on our team and our community."

Newman played for Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on three teams (Dallas 2003-06, Cincinnati 2012-13 and Minnesota 2015-17) and appeared in 221 career games with 205 starts. Coming off his third season in Minnesota, in which he played 555 snaps (third-highest of all Vikings corners) as the team's lead nickel corner, Newman announced that he would return for a final season in May. Before his retirement, Newman led the league with the most career interceptions (42) among all active players.

Safety Andrew Sendejo, who turns 31 in September, is currently the oldest player on Minnesota's roster. PUBLICATION: USA TODAY DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings release DE Robison, add retiring CB Newman as coach

By AP

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The competiveness of the NFL leaves little room for sentiment, not even for the most accomplished, respected or trusted players.

Brian Robison and Terence Newman were the latest reminders of that, left off the regular-season roster by the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday when the deadline for reaching the 53-player limit arrived.

The Vikings released Robison before his 12th season with the team was to begin. Then, they announced that Newman will retire and immediately join the coaching staff — three days before his 40th birthday.

Robison, who's tied for ninth in Vikings history with 60 career sacks, was the longest-tenured player on the team. Drafted in the fourth round in 2007, he spent six of his 11 years with the Vikings as a full-time starter. Danielle Hunter moved ahead of him on the depth chart in 2017, and for the second straight offseason Robison took a pay cut to return in 2018.

With Stephen Weatherly (third year) and Tashawn Bower (second year) performing well in the preseason as backups to Hunter and Everson Griffen, Robison's adjusted $1.1 million salary was still too much for the Vikings to carry considering the 35-year-old's reduced role.

"This one hurts, but it's not goodbye," Robison wrote in a thank-you message on his Twitter account . "More like see you later."

The Vikings felt strongly enough about Robison that they included statements from owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer in their announcement of his release.

"Brian has been one of the best leaders I've seen in my career, and I'm happy I got the opportunity to coach him," Zimmer said. "He's been such a great player for us and an even better help building the kind of culture we want with this team."

Newman joined the Vikings in 2015, reuniting with Zimmer after playing for him with Dallas (four seasons) and Cincinnati (two seasons) when Zimmer was the defensive coordinator for those teams. The fifth overall pick in the 2003 draft, Newman has 42 career interceptions, which was the most among active players following the retirement this spring of DeAngelo Hall. With Newman's announcement, Carolina's Julius Peppers (age 38) becomes the oldest defensive player in the league.

The Vikings said they'd provide more details on Newman's role on the coaching staff in the near future. In addition to serving as a valuable mentor to starters Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, Newman stepped in capably in the slot as the nickel cornerback when Mackensie Alexander struggled. The Vikings drafted Mike Hughes in the first round, though, giving them plenty of depth.

Robison and Newman were the only two players older than 30 on the roster. Strong safety Andrew Sendejo (Sept. 9), cornerback/punt returner Marcus Sherels (Sept. 30) and Griffen (Dec. 22) will turn 31 during the season.

The Vikings cut seven wide receivers this weekend, including Chad Beebe, Cayleb Jones and Kendall Wright. Beebe, the son of former Buffalo folk hero Don Beebe, had a standout preseason but was out of action with an injury this week. Jones was charged with domestic assault and two other crimes this week for allegedly shoving his girlfriend during an argument at a hotel. Wright has 339 career catches, after playing his first five seasons in the NFL with Tennessee and last year for Chicago.

The fifth and final wide receiver spot on the team went to Brandon Zylstra, a native of Spicer, Minnesota, who played at NCAA Division III Concordia College and played the last two seasons in the CFL.

The Vikings placed backup linebacker and special teams contributor Kentrell Brothers on the suspended list, for a previously announced punishment from the NFL for violating the performance-enhancing substances policy.

Center Pat Elflein was removed from the physically unable to perform list after being held out for the entire preseason following offseason ankle and shoulder surgeries. If he's not cleared to play in the season opener on Sept. 9 against San Francisco, either Brett Jones or Danny Isidora will play center. Cornelius Edison, who spent much of training camp as the first team center, was among the players released. PUBLICATION: NFL.com DATE: 9/2/18

Terence Newman retires, joins Vikings coaching staff

By Herbie Teope

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Terence Newman's time has come.

Newman, who was set to enter his 16th professional season, announced his retirement as a player and will join the Vikings coaching staff effective immediately.

While the Vikings won't provide specifics on Newman's role until a later time, Newman should be comfortable in whatever role coach Mike Zimmer has in store for him.

The two men know each other well when considering Newman spent nine of his 15 professional seasons playing for Zimmer.

Newman, who turns 40 on Sept. 4, entered the league in 2003 out of Kansas State as the fifth overall pick with the Dallas Cowboys, where he first played for Zimmer, then the Cowboys defensive coordinator. He later reunited with Zimmer with the Cincinnati Bengals for two seasons (2012-13) before joining the coach with the Vikings in 2015.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Newman, a two-time Pro Bowler, finishes his career with 42 interceptions, which would have ranked second among active players had Newman played another season. Newman caps off a remarkable professional run by appearing in 221 career games with 205 starts.

PUBLICATION: NFL.com DATE: 9/2/18

Vikings releasing 12-year veteran Brian Robison

By Chris Wesseling

Veteran defensive end Brian Robison's farewell tour with the Vikings has been grounded.

Minnesota is set to release Robison during Saturday's final cuts, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation. The 35-year-old is not yet ready to retire, Rapoport added, and will now await another opportunity.

The team later confirmed Robison's release.

Robison has been overlooked for the majority of his 12-year career, entering the league along with superstar running back and playmaking wideout in a bountiful 2007 draft class. An understudy to All-Pro pass rusher Jared Allen in his early days with the Vikes, Robison enjoyed a six-year prime as solid starter before giving way to promising sack artist Danielle Hunter in 2017.

A respected team leader, Robinson agreed to a pay cut in June so he could spend one last season in Minnesota before walking away from the game in 2019. He will finish his Vikings career with 60 sacks in 173 games.

Asked how Robison was handling his reduced role in the offseason of 2017, coach Mike Zimmer replied, "Probably as good as I have been around. He said he would do anything he could to help this football team. I think he understands that Danielle is a very talented guy. ... He did things the correct way, like a true professional."

Although he's leaving a Super Bowl contender, perhaps Robison will catch on with another powerhouse club that will allow him to chase a ring one last time before he hangs up his helmet.

View image on Twitter View image on Twitter

Brian Robison ✔ @Brian_Robison Sad Day! I love you Vikings Fans, teammates, coaches and all I have come in contact with over the years. This one hurts, but it’s not goodbye. More like see you later. Thank you @Vikings for 11 amazing years and one opportunity. Formal letter to come soon.

12:42 PM - Sep 1, 2018 17.2K 3,860 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy Minnesota is also expected to release wide receiver Kendall Wright, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Wright signed with the Vikings in the offseason but lost out on a job after Laquon Treadwell had a strong preseason, allowing Adam Thielen to spend more time on the inside, where Wright typically plays.