2016 Minnesota Vikings season

2016 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Mike Zimmer
General manager	Rick Spielman
Owner	Zygi Wilf
Home field	U.S. Bank Stadium
Uniform

The 2016 Minnesota Vikings season will be the franchise's upcoming 56th season in the National Football League and the third under head coach Mike Zimmer. The Vikings look to defend their 2015 NFC North championship during their first season playing their home games at U.S. Bank Stadium, located on the site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome where the Vikings played from 1982 to 2013 before moving temporarily to TCF Bank Stadium during construction.

Offseason

2016 Draft

2016 Minnesota Vikings draft[1]
Draft order			Player name	Position	Height	Weight	College	Contract	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	23	23	Laquon Treadwell	WR	6-2	211	Ole Miss
2	23	54	Mackensie Alexander	CB	5-11	190	Clemson	4 years / $4.3 million
3	23	86	Traded to the Miami Dolphins[upper-alpha 1]
4	23	121	Willie Beavers	G	6-4	324	Western Michigan	4 years / $2.88 million
5	21	160	Kentrell Brothers	ILB	6-0	245	Missouri	4 years / $2.57 million
6	5	180	Moritz Böhringer	WR	6-4	227	Schwäbisch Hall (GFL)	4 years / $2.49 million	from 49ers[upper-alpha 2]
	11	186	Traded to the Miami Dolphins[upper-alpha 3]						from Dolphins[upper-alpha 1]
	13	188	David Morgan II	TE	6-4	262	UTSA	4 years / $2.47 million	from Eagles[upper-alpha 4]
	21	196	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[upper-alpha 4]						from Texans via Patriots and Dolphins[upper-alpha 3]
	23	198	Traded to the San Diego Chargers[upper-alpha 5]
7	6	227	Stephen Weatherly	LB	6-4	267	Vanderbilt	4 years / $2.42 million	from Ravens via Dolphins[upper-alpha 3]
	19	240	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[upper-alpha 4]						from Bills[upper-alpha 6]
	23	244	Jayron Kearse	S	6-4	216	Clemson	4 years / $2.4 million

Draft trades

1. The Vikings traded their third-round selection (86th) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Miami's sixth-round selection (186th) and Miami's third- and fourth-round selection in 2017.^[2]
2. San Francisco traded their sixth-round selection (180th) and center Nick Easton to Minnesota in exchange for linebacker Gerald Hodges.^[3]
3. The Vikings traded the sixth-round selection they acquired from the Miami Dolphins (186th) back to the Dolphins in exchange for Miami's sixth-round selection and the seventh-round selection they acquired from the Ravens (196th and 227th).^[4]
4. Philadelphia traded their sixth-round selection (188th) to Minnesota in exchange for the sixth-round selection Minnesota acquired from the Dolphins and their seventh-round selection (196th and 240th).^[5]
5. The Vikings traded their original sixth-round selection (198th) to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for guard Jeremiah Sirles.^[6]
6. Buffalo traded their 2016 sixth-round selection (240th) and a 2015 fifth-round selection (137th) to the Vikings in exchange for quarterback Matt Cassel and Minnesota's 2015 sixth-round selection (187th).^[7]

Roster changes

Re-signings

Date	Player name	Position	Contract terms
March 7, 2016	Carter Bykowski	OT	1 year / $600,000[8]
	Andrew Sendejo	S	4 years / $16 million[9]
	Adam Thielen	WR	1 year / $600,000[10]
March 8, 2016	Audie Cole	LB	1 year / $760,000[11]
March 9, 2016	Kenrick Ellis	DT	1 year / $810,000[12]
	Mike Harris	G	1 year / $1.9 million[13]
March 15, 2016	Rhett Ellison	TE	1 year / $2.25 million[14]
	Marcus Sherels	CB	2 years / $4 million[14]
March 16, 2016	Matt Asiata	RB	1 year / $840,000[15]
March 18, 2016	Terence Newman	CB	1 year / $3 million[14]
	Justin Trattou	DE	1 year / $810,000[16]
April 11, 2016	Chad Greenway	LB	1 year / $2.75 million[17]
April 18, 2016	Zach Line	FB	1 year / $1.671 million[18]

Departures

Date	Player name	Position	Note	New team
March 8, 2016	Mike Wallace	WR	Released[19]	Baltimore Ravens
	Austin Wentworth	OT	Waived[19]	Retired[20]
March 9, 2016	Casey Matthews	ILB	UFA
	Jason Trusnik	ILB	UFA
March 14, 2016	Josh Robinson	CB	UFA	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
March 18, 2016	Robert Blanton	S	UFA	Buffalo Bills
April 13, 2016	Terrance Plummer	LB	Waived
	Alex Singleton	LB	Waived

Additions

Date	Player name	Position	Previous team	Contract terms
March 10, 2016	Alex Boone	G	San Francisco 49ers	4 years / $26.8 million[21]
	Emmanuel Lamur	LB	Cincinnati Bengals	2 years / $6 million[13]
March 11, 2016	Travis Lewis	LB	Detroit Lions	1 year / $810,000[13]
March 14, 2016	Michael Griffin	S	Tennessee Titans	1 year / $3 million[13]
March 18, 2016	Andre Smith	OT	Cincinnati Bengals	1 year / $4.5 million[22]
March 21, 2016	Brian Leonhardt	TE	San Francisco 49ers	1 year / $600,000[23]
May 1, 2016	Keith Baxter	CB	Marshall (NCAA)	Undrafted FA[24]
	Kyle Carter	TE	Penn State (NCAA)
	Theiren Cockran	DE	Minnesota (NCAA)
	Jake Ganus	ILB	Georgia (NCAA)
	Marken Michel	WR	UMass (NCAA)
	Denzell Perine	OLB	Florida Atlantic (NCAA)
	Jhurell Pressley	RB	New Mexico (NCAA)
	Eric Rawls	CB	Kentucky State (NCAA)
	Brandon Ross	RB	Maryland (NCAA)
	Joel Stave	QB	Wisconsin (NCAA)

Preseason

Schedule

The Vikings' preseason opponents and schedule was announced April 7.

Week	Date	Kickoff (CDT)	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	August 12	6:30 p.m.	at Cincinnati Bengals			Paul Brown Stadium	KMSP Fox 9
2	August 18	9:00 p.m.	at Seattle Seahawks			CenturyLink Field	KMSP Fox 9
3	August 28	12:00 p.m.	San Diego Chargers			U.S. Bank Stadium	Fox
4	September 1	7:00 p.m.	Los Angeles Rams			U.S. Bank Stadium	KMSP Fox 9

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff (CT)	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	TV	NFL.com recap
1	September 11	12:00 p.m.	at Tennessee Titans			Nissan Stadium	Fox
2	September 18	7:30 p.m.	Green Bay Packers			U.S. Bank Stadium	NBC
3	September 25	12:00 p.m.	at Carolina Panthers			Bank of America Stadium	Fox
4	October 3	7:30 p.m.	New York Giants			U.S. Bank Stadium	ESPN
5	October 9	12:00 p.m.	Houston Texans			U.S. Bank Stadium	Fox
6	Bye
7	October 23	12:00 p.m.	at Philadelphia Eagles			Lincoln Financial Field	Fox
8	October 31	8:30 p.m.	at Chicago Bears			Soldier Field	ESPN
9	November 6	12:00 p.m.	Detroit Lions			U.S. Bank Stadium	Fox
10	November 13	12:00 p.m.	at Washington Redskins			FedEx Field	Fox
11	November 20	12:00 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals			U.S. Bank Stadium	Fox
12	November 24	11:30 a.m.	at Detroit Lions			Ford Field	CBS
13	December 1	7:25 p.m.	Dallas Cowboys			U.S. Bank Stadium	NBC/NFLN/Twitter
14	December 11	12:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville Jaguars			EverBank Field	Fox
15	December 18	12:00 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts			U.S. Bank Stadium	CBS
16	December 24	12:00 p.m.	at Green Bay Packers			Lambeau Field	Fox
17	January 1	12:00 p.m.	Chicago Bears			U.S. Bank Stadium	Fox

Notes

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Networks and times for Sunday games from Weeks 5–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.

Staff

Minnesota Vikings staff
	Front Office Owner/Chairman – Zygi Wilf Owner/President – Mark Wilf Owner/Vice Chairman – Leonard Wilf General Manager – Rick Spielman Vice President of Football Operations – Rob Brzezinski Assistant General Manager – George Paton Director of College Scouting – Jamaal Stephenson Director of Pro Scouting – Ryan Monnens Head Coaches Head Coach – Mike Zimmer Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Norv Turner Quarterbacks – Scott Turner Running Backs – Kevin Stefanski Wide Receivers – George Stewart Assistant Wide Receivers – Drew Petzing Tight Ends – Pat Shurmur Offensive Line – Tony Sparano Assistant Offensive Line – Hank Fraley Offensive Quality Control – Andrew Janocko			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – George Edwards Defensive Line – Andre Patterson Assistant Defensive Line - Robert Rodriguez Defensive Assistant – Jeff Howard Linebackers – Adam Zimmer Defensive Backs – Jerry Gray Assistant Defensive Backs/Defensive Quality Control – Jonathan Gannon Special Teams Coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Mike Priefer Assistant Special Teams – Ryan Ficken Strength and Conditioning Head Athletic Trainer – Eric Sugarman Head Strength and Conditioning – Brent Salazar Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Hurd Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Chaz Mahle → Coaching Staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC OAK SD NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LA SF SEA

Current roster

Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks  5 Teddy Bridgewater  6 Taylor Heinicke 13 Shaun Hill  2 Joel Stave  4 Marquise Williams Running backs 44 Matt Asiata 48 Zach Line FB 21 Jerick McKinnon 28 Adrian Peterson 42 Jhurell Pressley 49 Blake Renaud FB 45 Brandon Ross Wide receivers 81 Moritz Böhringer 14 Stefon Diggs 15 Isaac Fruechte 12 Charles Johnson  9 Marken Michel 84 Cordarrelle Patterson 16 Terrell Sinkfield 19 Adam Thielen 11 Laquon Treadwell 17 Jarius Wright Tight ends 86 Kyle Carter 85 Rhett Ellison 87 Brian Leonhardt 89 David Morgan II 82 Kyle Rudolph 83 MyCole Pruitt		Offensive linemen 64 Willie Beavers G 61 Joe Berger G 76 Alex Boone G 60 Carter Bykowski T 68 T. J. Clemmings T 62 Nick Easton C 69 Isame Faciane G 63 Brandon Fusco G 79 Michael Harris G 75 Matt Kalil T 67 Zac Kerin C 71 Phil Loadholt T 74 Austin Shepherd T 78 Jeremiah Sirles G 72 Andre Smith T 65 John Sullivan C Defensive linemen 67 Theiren Cockran DE 95 Scott Crichton DE 90 B. J. Dubose DT 66 Kenrick Ellis DT 73 Sharrif Floyd DT 97 Everson Griffen DE 99 Danielle Hunter DE 69 Toby Johnson DT 92 Tom Johnson DT 98 Linval Joseph DT 91 Zach Moore DE 96 Brian Robison DE 93 Shamar Stephen DT 94 Justin Trattou DE 64 Stephen Weatherly DE		Linebackers 55 Anthony Barr OLB 40 Kentrell Brothers MLB 57 Audie Cole MLB 56 Jake Ganus MLB 52 Chad Greenway OLB 54 Eric Kendricks MLB 59 Emmanuel Lamur OLB 50 Travis Lewis MLB 62 Denzell Perine OLB 51 Edmond Robinson OLB 58 Brandon Watts OLB Defensive backs 20 Mackensie Alexander CB 38 Keith Baxter CB 32 Antone Exum FS 33 Michael Griffin SS 41 Anthony Harris SS 27 Jayron Kearse S 37 Johnny Lowdermilk SS 24 Captain Munnerlyn CB 23 Terence Newman CB 25 Jabari Price CB 36 Eric Rawls CB 29 Xavier Rhodes CB 34 Andrew Sendejo SS 35 Marcus Sherels CB 22 Harrison Smith FS 26 Trae Waynes CB 31 Melvin White CB Special teams 18 Jeff Locke P 47 Kevin McDermott LS  3 Blair Walsh K				Reserve lists Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster updated May 2, 2016 Depth Chart • Transactions 89 Active, 0 Inactive, 7 Unsigned → AFC rosters → NFC rosters
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC OAK SD NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LA SF SEA

References

1. "2016 NFL Draft Tracker - Minnesota Vikings". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
2. Tomasson, Chris (April 29, 2016). "Vikings trade out of third round, getting three picks from Miami". TwinCities.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
3. Alper, Josh (October 6, 2015). "Vikings trade Gerald Hodges to 49ers for Nick Easton and a pick". NBCSports.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
4. Nogle, Kevin (April 30, 2016). "Miami Dolphins pick Jakeem Grant in sixth round". SBNation. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
5. "Vikings trade up in 6th round, select TE Morgan out of Texas-San Antonio". Fox Sports. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
6. Alper, Josh (September 5, 2015). "Chargers trade Jeremiah Sirles to Vikings as they hit 53 players". ProFootballTalk (NBC Sports). Retrieved September 5, 2015.
7. Smith, Michael David (March 4, 2015). "Bills acquire Matt Cassel in trade with Vikings". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
8. "Carter Bykowski Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
9. Florio, Mike (March 5, 2016). "Vikings re-sign Andrew Sendejo". Pro Football Talk (NBC Sports). Retrieved March 8, 2016.
10. "Adam Thielen Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
11. Tomasson, Chris (March 8, 2016). "Vikings linebacker Audie Cole signs new deal". TwinCities.com (Digital First Media). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
12. "Kenrick Ellis Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
13. Tomasson, Chris (March 9, 2016). "Vikings have deals with offensive linemen Alex Boone, Mike Harris". TwinCities.com (Digital First Media). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
14. "Vikings re-sign Sherels, Ellison, Newman". FoxSports.com (Associated Press). March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
15. "Matt Asiata Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
16. "Justin Trattou Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
17. "Chad Greenway Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns". Spotrac. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
18. Alper, Josh (April 18, 2016). "Zach Line remains with Vikings". ProFootballTalk (NBC Sports). Retrieved April 18, 2016.
19. "Vikings Release Mike Wallace, Waive Austin Wentworth". Vikings.com (Minnesota Vikings Football). March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
20. Tomasson, Chris (March 13, 2016). "Guard Austin Wentworth says NFL career over after one Vikings season after suffering leg clots and losing muscle". TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press). Retrieved March 15, 2016.
21. "Transactions roundup: Vikings to add guard Alex Boone". nfl.com (National Football League). March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
22. "Ben Goessling on Twitter". Twitter. March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
23. Goessling, Ben (March 18, 2016). "Vikings sign Brian Leonhardt to one-year deal". ESPN (ESPN Internet Ventures). Retrieved March 20, 2016.
24. Gates, Christopher (May 1, 2016). "2016 NFL Draft: Minnesota Vikings Undrafted Free Agent Tracker". DailyNorseman.com (SB Nation). Retrieved May 1, 2016.

External links

• Official website