2016 Minnesota Vikings season

Minnesota Vikings
2016 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Mike Zimmer
General manager	Rick Spielman
Owner	Zygi Wilf
Home field	U.S. Bank Stadium
Uniform
	← 2015; Vikings seasons; 2017 →;

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	Player name	Position	Height	Weight	College	Contract	Notes
1	23	23	Laquon Treadwell	WR	6-2	211	Ole Miss	4 years / $9.93 million^[2]
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

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 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.^[3]
↑ San Francisco traded their sixth-round selection (180th) and center Nick Easton to Minnesota in exchange for linebacker Gerald Hodges.^[4]
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 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).^[5]
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 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).^[6]
↑ The Vikings traded their original sixth-round selection (198th) to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for guard Jeremiah Sirles.^[7]
↑ 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).^[8]

Roster changes

Re-signings
Date	Player name	Position	Contract terms
March 7, 2016	Carter Bykowski	OT	1 year / $600,000^[9]
	Andrew Sendejo	S	4 years / $16 million^[10]
	Adam Thielen	WR	1 year / $600,000^[11]
March 8, 2016	Audie Cole	LB	1 year / $760,000^[12]
March 9, 2016	Kenrick Ellis	DT	1 year / $810,000^[13]
March 9, 2016	Mike Harris	G	1 year / $1.9 million^[14]
March 15, 2016	Rhett Ellison	TE	1 year / $2.25 million^[15]
March 15, 2016	Marcus Sherels	CB	2 years / $4 million^[15]
March 16, 2016	Matt Asiata	RB	1 year / $840,000^[16]
March 18, 2016	Terence Newman	CB	1 year / $3 million^[15]
March 18, 2016	Justin Trattou	DE	1 year / $810,000^[17]
April 11, 2016	Chad Greenway	LB	1 year / $2.75 million^[18]
April 18, 2016	Zach Line	FB	1 year / $1.671 million^[19]

Departures
Date	Player name	Position	Note	New team
March 8, 2016	Mike Wallace	WR	Released^[20]	Baltimore Ravens
March 8, 2016	Austin Wentworth	OT	Waived^[20]	Retired^[21]
March 9, 2016	Casey Matthews	ILB	UFA
March 9, 2016	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
April 13, 2016	Alex Singleton	LB	Waived	Calgary Stampeders (CFL)
May 10, 2016	Johnny Lowdermilk	S	Waived	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Additions
Date	Player name	Position	Previous team	Contract terms
March 10, 2016	Alex Boone	G	San Francisco 49ers	4 years / $26.8 million^[22]
March 10, 2016	Emmanuel Lamur	LB	Cincinnati Bengals	2 years / $6 million^[14]
March 11, 2016	Travis Lewis	LB	Detroit Lions	1 year / $810,000^[14]
March 14, 2016	Michael Griffin	S	Tennessee Titans	1 year / $3 million^[14]
March 18, 2016	Andre Smith	OT	Cincinnati Bengals	1 year / $4.5 million^[23]
March 21, 2016	Brian Leonhardt	TE	San Francisco 49ers	1 year / $600,000^[24]
May 1, 2016	Keith Baxter	CB	Marshall (NCAA)	Undrafted FA^[25]
	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)
	Brandon Ross	RB	Maryland (NCAA)
	Joel Stave	QB	Wisconsin (NCAA)
May 9, 2016	Tre Roberson	CB	Illinois State (NCAA)	Undrafted FA^[26]
May 9, 2016	Troy Stoudermire	WR	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL)	^[26]
March 10, 2016	C. J. Ham	HB	Augustana (NCAA)

Preseason

Schedule

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

Week	Date	Kickoff (CDT)	Opponent	Game site	TV
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	Game site	TV
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
Executive Vice President - 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

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

83 MyCole Pruitt
82 Kyle Rudolph

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Currently vacant

Unrestricted FAs

Restricted FAs

48 Zach Line FB

Exclusive-Rights FAs

60 Carter Bykowski OT
19 Adam Thielen WR

Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 11, 2016
Depth Chart • Transactions
53 Active, 0 Inactive, 17 FAs

→ 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

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External links

Official website

[Dolphins-4] 1.0 ^1.1 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.^[3]

[49ers-6] San Francisco traded their sixth-round selection (180th) and center Nick Easton to Minnesota in exchange for linebacker Gerald Hodges.^[4]

[Dolphins_2-8] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 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).^[5]

[Eagles-10] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 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).^[6]

[12] The Vikings traded their original sixth-round selection (198th) to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for guard Jeremiah Sirles.^[7]

[Bills-14] 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).^[8]

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v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium (under construction)
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal "Little Minnesota" (How I Met Your Mother episode) Cheerleaders
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Anderson's missed field goal Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Hail Mary 2010 HHH Metrodome roof collapse Walsh's missed field goal
Division championships (19)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (0^†)	^† does not include 1969 NFL championship
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Seasons (56)	1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Championship seasons in bold

2016 Minnesota Vikings season

Contents

Offseason

2016 Draft

Roster changes

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Staff

Current roster

References

External links

Navigation menu

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v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance