Three years ago, Sheldon Richardson was a pricey final piece added to a defense that was already one of the league’s best.

His salary will look different in 2021, and so will his role, but he’s still a critical late addition to the Minnesota Vikings’ roster.

Richardson, who signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal, has started 118 out of 121 career games. He may not start one in 2021. For the first time in his nine-year career, he is in line to be a rotational player. Perhaps it’s a demotion for Richardson, who lost a big chunk of cash when the Cleveland Browns cut him as a cap casualty, but it’s an upgrade for the Vikings at defensive tackle.

“I get in where I fit in, simple as that,” Richardson said on a Zoom call. “This will be the first year where I’ve not started, so I’m just getting in where I fit in.”

Minnesota lined up in its passing-down subpackage at Tuesday’s mini-camp practice while Richardson watched from the sideline. Jalyn Holmes and Armon Watts were the interior choices with Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce off the field — a concerning reality for the Vikings if that was a regular-season game. Holmes was the only defensive end in the NFL last year to get over 600 snaps and not record a sack. Watts is a nose tackle hybrid with just two career sacks in two seasons.

Add Richardson, and suddenly you have a true pass-rushing specialist to spell the run-stuffers Tomlinson and Pierce. His arrival at TCO Performance Center coincided with the reemergence of Danielle Hunter after a brief holdout. The Vikings went from a punchless pass rush on Monday to a potentially formidable pairing on Tuesday, whose stunts could present a nightmare to opposing offensive lines.

“Tremendous talent. I always seem to be playing with some kind of freak-of-nature defensive end for the past five years,” said Richardson. “It’s been great, and the season I had with Danielle was great. His contract’s a little bit bigger now, so that’s the difference between me and Danielle. Other than that, just getting accustomed and acclimated with everybody else on the defensive line. I know what Danielle does and how to play with Danielle. That’s not a problem. Now just making sure I know how to play with everybody else on the D-line.”

Richardson, 30, has yet to see a decline in his pass-rushing capability. He’s been top 20 in pressures the previous four seasons, including the 2018 year in Minnesota, where he played for $8 million. Per Pro Football Focus, his pass-rush grade those four seasons fluctuated between 65 and 70. In Cleveland last year, he saw his snaps increase to a career-high 920 yet retained the same level of pass-rushing productivity.

If there’s been a dropoff, it’s in his run defense, where Richardson posted his two lowest career grades in Cleveland with 11 missed tackles over two seasons. That probably won’t be his concern anymore with the Vikings investing big bucks in big bodies between Tomlinson and Pierce, who should play on most rushing downs. Richardson said he’s a trim 286 lbs., prepared to build on a nearly decade-long career in a new-look role.

“I still want to be one of the dominant guys in the league, like I’ve been,” Richardson said.

Dominant may be a stretch. Solid is probably a fairer word. And at $3.6 million, solid is what the Vikings need.

As a former first-round pick, Richardson may be underappreciated. His journeyman status likely hasn’t helped his reputation despite stats that have remained mostly consistent with only brief blips. Since 2016, he’s played on four teams, oftentimes under big salaries that carried lofty expectations that weren’t fulfilled. He played with the New York Jets for four years, underperformed after being traded to the Seattle Seahawks, was part of a disappointing Vikings team, and was cut early by Cleveland. But his consistency is impressive, considering the circumstances. He’s only played fewer than 15 games once (because of a four-game suspension in 2015), and he’s never had fewer than 33 pressures in a season.

“Sheldon’s a baller,” said safety Harrison Smith. “That was apparent before he got to us the first time, but once he got here, the plays that he could make, just a really athletic guy, has a good feel for the game. Obviously, the news of Danielle [Hunter] coming back, and then it was like, ‘Oh, we got Sheldon too.’ It was a pretty big time for us. He’s an absolute playmaker, and I’m happy he’s back. He’s a great guy in the locker room, always got a smile on his face, and he’s always ready to work.”

Richardson is no stranger to prove-it years. That’s what he has again in 2021. The Vikings get a veteran reinforcement familiar with the system, and he’ll get to focus on the thing he’s best at: pressuring the passer.

Sam Ekstrom covers the Vikings with colleague Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Check out the Purple Insider Podcast here and consider subscribing to the Purple Insider newsletter for daily Vikings news from credentialed reporters. 

Mini-camp is over, training camp is on the horizon, and yet we still don’t know as much about the Minnesota Vikings’ rookie class as we should. The thinking going into camp was that this year’s Vikings would be able to dodge some of the obstacles that tripped them up last year. Among the strategies: Use the offseason to prepare rookies for spots they might find themselves in during the regular season.

Unlike in the pandemic-afflicted 2020 offseason, the Vikings have a complete set of OTAs and a full mini-camp at their disposal, and opportunities abounded for new draft picks to compete for starting jobs or key depth roles. But Minnesota chose to slow-play many of its high draft picks, while others limited themselves with injuries and absences.

It all starts with Christian Darrisaw. The Vikings’ first-round pick started practicing with the second team in OTAs, then was beset by a groin pull several weeks later. He ended mini-camp rotating in with the backups. His fellow offensive lineman of the future, Wyatt Davis, didn’t do a lot more. Davis played with the 2s during offseason practices and had his weight knocked by Mike Zimmer in a radio interview the week of mini-camp.

Zimmer claims his rookie linemen are competing for starting roles, but there was no sign of competition this spring. Competition implies a level playing field, but Darrisaw and Davis appeared to be backups until proven otherwise. Some may claim that’s backward thinking when the ones standing in their way are Rashod Hill and Dakota Dozier, both of whom have been given opportunities to start for long stretches on this very team and struggled mightily.

“We do have some preseason games. We’re going to practice against the [Denver] Broncos, so we’ll get to see him against other competition,” Zimmer said of Darrisaw and Davis. “It’s always a big jump when you come into the NFL from college, whether it’s terminology and getting to know teammates, and footwork in the NFL is different, so sometimes that takes a little while like it did with Justin [Jefferson].

“We got a chance to play him when he got a chance to play. You can go through a lot of guys that may not have started the season there, but at some point, you’ve got to get them in there if they’re a talented guy and doing things right. Sometimes it’s a baptism by fire, but you know that they’re going to be better down the road, so they’re competing. Once we get the pads on, they’ll all be competing for that job, and we’ll just see how it all shakes out.”

The last two linemen the Vikings held back both performed better than their predecessors. Brian O’Neill was a huge upgrade over Hill when he took the reins in 2018, and Ezra Cleveland was miles better last year than Dru Samia, who the Vikings opted to play instead of Cleveland when Pat Elflein got hurt. Early indications are the Vikings may again end up stomaching subpar veterans on the offensive line to start the year.

Run down the list of rookies at other positions and you’ll encounter more underwhelming spring performances.

• Kellen Mond presented the furthest thing from a threat to Kirk Cousins as a quarterback of the future. Instead, he was lucky to get more than a couple of throws during team drills as he watched a battle unfolding between Jake Browning and Nate Stanley for the backup job.
• Third-round linebacker Chazz Surratt was absent from most of OTAs and held out of mini-camp with an apparent injury — he’s supposed to compete for Eric Wilson‘s old job.
• Third-round defensive end Patrick Jones II was buried with the third team, oftentimes with fourth-round defensive end Janarius Robinson.
• Fifth-round receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette was mostly invisible, and Zimmer said he talks a little too much trash in a radio interview.
• Even rookie UDFA kicker Riley Patterson missed several weeks for undisclosed reasons when he was supposed to be competing with Greg Joseph for the starting job.

Only fourth-round defensive back Camryn Bynum seemed to be on a fast track, getting second-team reps at safety.

OTAs and mini-camp are when teams should be tinkering with their rotations, but the Vikings appear intent on letting their rookies earn their stripes the old-fashioned way. That may not be helpful, though, when players like Darrisaw and Davis inevitably take the starting jobs. They could’ve spent the spring getting reps next to their eventual comrades like Cleveland and Garrett Bradbury on the offensive line, but Minnesota may end up having to build that chemistry on the fly if they take baby steps with their first-year players.

There is no need to protect the legacies of Hill and Dozier.

It’s understandable that Zimmer was spooked when he had eight rookies playing on defense during Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers last year. That doesn’t mean that rookies playing is inherently risky. The Vikings should have learned that when they took too long to start Jefferson and O’Neill.

Obviously, rookies can’t control injuries, so players like Surratt will just have to wait to get healthy. But there’s nothing preventing the Vikings from promoting healthy rookies into positions where they may find themselves in the future. Let Darrisaw build chemistry next to Cleveland. Let Davis get accustomed to Bradbury. Give Patrick Jones a chance to back up Danielle Hunter. Give Mond a gosh darn second-team rep.

It’s not illegal for the Vikings to trust these rookies with bigger roles in practice and reel them back in if they can’t handle it.

Sam Ekstrom covers the Vikings with colleague Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Check out the Purple Insider Podcast here and consider subscribing to the Purple Insider newsletter for daily Vikings news from credentialed reporters. 

No matter what issues you believe are ailing the 2021 Minnesota Vikings, it’s unlikely they stack up with the calamities that plagued the team a decade ago.

The 2011 Vikings tied the 1984 team for the franchise’s worst winning percentage in the Super Bowl era with a 3-13 record. Despite having a popular new head coach, a franchise running back, a flashy receiver, and an eventual record-setter at defensive end, the Vikings of 10 years ago never got off the ground.

Let’s take a look back at the lowlights of that fateful season.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PREVIOUS SEASON?

The 2011 season often gets overshadowed by 2010, which was by far more disappointing, more cataclysmic, and more newsworthy. Brett Favre got investigated for unwanted sexting. Randy Moss returned and insulted a caterer. Brad Childress got fired, the Metrodome collapsed, and the Vikings played a home game in Detroit AND a Tuesday night game in Philadelphia. In theory, things couldn’t get worse in 2011. Surely, there was some football karma available for the Vikings to cash in after all they’d endured.

That wouldn’t be the case.

ILL-ADVISED VETERAN PICK-UP

It didn’t come until late July, but the Vikings made a move they would soon regret: trading a sixth-round pick for veteran Donovan McNabb. The year prior in Washington, McNabb had inked a six-year deal. To be traded one summer later was telling, considering he went 5-8, threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (14), and completed just 58% of his passes with his new team.

The Vikings hoped this was a Brett Favre situation: picking up an accomplished veteran after a misfit year in a new location. But instead of bouncing back to life, McNabb further regressed to the point of being unplayable. He debuted with 39 yards in a season-opening loss against the San Diego Chargers, regularly bounced passes to receivers, and got yanked midway through the sixth game of the year, never to throw an NFL pass again. McNabb was waived before the season ended.

COMPLICATING FACTOR

Why was McNabb necessary?

A lockout.

Remember, the 2011 season was jeopardized by a standoff between the league and the NFLPA. The work stoppage that effectively lasted from early March to late July took the offseason away from rookie quarterback Christian Ponder. The Vikings, who have never been eager to embrace rebuilding years, went after McNabb as a stopgap to mitigate Ponder’s rookie growing pains once the lockout ended.

Knowing what we know now about Ponder’s career, an extra summer of team work probably wouldn’t have upped his potential, but the shortened training camp made it necessary for the Vikings to break in a new quarterback fast. That isn’t easy, whether it’s a veteran or a rookie. In addition to all that, Minnesota was working with a new coaching staff with Bill Musgrave as the offensive coordinator. There was no continuity for the quarterback-to-be to fall back on. The Vikings started 0-4, averaging less than 20 points per game.

BACK-BREAKING INJURY

Star cornerback Antoine Winfield was the rock of the Vikings secondary, but he managed to play only five games in the 2011 season. Starting in Week 5, he missed four games with a neck injury, then tried to return on a Monday night against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau. He wound up breaking his clavicle in a 45-7 blowout loss, landing him on injured reserve.

Without Winfield, Minnesota gave up the most passing touchdowns in football and the 26th-most yards.

FLEETING MOMENT OF OPTIMISM

For an extremely brief moment of time, Vikings fans probably thought they were Super Bowl-bound. Electrifying kick returner Percy Harvin took the season’s opening kickoff back 103 yards and staked the Vikings to a 7-0 lead. The defense even followed it up with a three-and-out.

But on Minnesota’s first offensive play of the game, McNabb threw the ball to defensive lineman Shaun Phillips inside the Vikings’ own 10-yard line. The Chargers promptly scored to tie the game and later rattled off 17-straight points in the second half to send Minnesota to 0-1.

CLOSE GAME KRYPTONITE

The 2011 Vikings went 2-9 in one-possession games with some epic collapses. Their second-half meltdown at San Diego was tame compared to the next two weeks when they lost a 17-0 lead to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a 20-0 lead to the Detroit Lions. They were outscored 67-6 in the second half over the first three games of the season.

Ponder also served up a game-losing interception against the Denver Broncos that teed them up for a game-winning field goal, and one week later backup quarterback Joe Webb fumbled with the Vikings going for the win at Detroit’s 1-yard line. Even with Adrian Peterson and Harvin on the field, Minnesota’s lack of competency at quarterback dissolved their chances late in games.

Early leads and late collapses were par for the course as Leslie Frazier‘s defense allowed the second-most points in the NFL to contribute to the woes. It was a multi-phase failure.

ONE LAST GUT PUNCH

It wouldn’t be a 3-13 season without one final blow to leave the fanbase distraught heading into the offseason. Cue Week 16 at Washington, where Peterson tore his ACL on a running play in the third quarter. Fans exited that game thinking they’d lost their franchise running back for a year or more (we now know of Peterson’s epic return). To make matters worse, the Vikings won the game 33-26, costing them a shot at the No. 1 draft pick, Andrew Luck.

THE RANDOM COOL THING THAT HAPPENED

Jared Allen put together one of the great pass-rushing seasons in league history, capped by a 3.5-sack performance in the season finale vs. the Chicago Bears to break the Vikings record with 22. He needed one more sack to break Michael Strahan‘s NFL record but was stymied by double- and triple-teams in the second half. Leave it to Allen to liven up a thoroughly meaningless Week 17 game.

BOTTOM LINE

The rookie quarterback and the first-year coach were short-lived. Despite the optimism about the Frazier-Ponder pairing, it didn’t mesh, and both were out of their roles by 2014. Add in the bizarre McNabb cameo and half a dozen fourth quarter blowups, and 2011 was truly a season to forget.

In some ways, it feels like more than 10 years ago.

Sam Ekstrom covers the Vikings with colleague Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Check out the Purple Insider Podcast here and consider subscribing to the Purple Insider newsletter for daily Vikings news from credentialed reporters. 

The Vikings play preseason football on Aug. 14, one month from the date of this publication.

Crazy, right?

The time is quickly approaching to get familiar with who’s currently on the roster, who makes the cut, and why you should be irrationally cheering for certain players to make it.

Going position by position, we’ll look at the most interesting character at each position group. Criteria taken into account includes players’ potential roles, interesting backstories, and other intangibles left up to the author’s discretion.

QUARTERBACK: Kellen Mond

In a room with three prototypical pocket passers, one of whom is a former UDFA with a practice squad resumé, another being a seventh-round pick who’s never thrown a pass even in an NFL preseason game, and another who keeps a jar of rocks on his front porch, Mond stands out by simply being a novelty in these parts. Let’s face it, the Vikings don’t usually have fascinating quarterbacks, and neither Kirk Cousins, Jake Browning, nor Nate Stanley have done much to change that.

Vikings’ starters have often been statuesque with vanilla personalities. The backups have been hired to stay quiet and support the starters. The third-stringers have been a revolving door of obscurity.

Mond has charisma, mobility, and a high draft status that threatens the Vikings’ status quo. That’s relatively interesting.

RUNNING BACK: Kene Nwangwu

The last running back drafted by the Vikings, Alexander Mattison, had his own set of interesting traits. He was a workhorse running back from Boise State with a hurdling background but without elite straight-line speed.

The newest draft pick, Kene Nwangwu, also has a track-and-field background. He was a sprinter at his Texas high school with ludicrous 4.29 speed that Mattison lacked. Unlike Mattison, though, he doesn’t have the durability. Nwangwu touched the ball in college almost 500 fewer times than Mattison. In their four-year careers, Mattison got 641 chances; Nwangwu just 150. For that reason, many expected Nwangwu to fall out of the draft completely, but the Vikings took him in the fourth round.

The Vikings clearly see a specific niche for Nwangwu where he can capitalize on his speed. That makes him awfully intriguing.

WIDE RECEIVER: K.j. Osborn

The Vikings didn’t do much to bolster their receiving corps this offseason, opting to focus all their efforts on defense. Minnesota drafted Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the fifth round and added three UDFA pass-catchers to fill out their receiver room — none of whom are guaranteed to contribute this year.

So beyond the duo of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, who are obviously quite interesting in their own right, who else can steal some headlines?

How about the forgotten receiver from last year’s roster, K.J. Osborn? Though he received fans’ wrath for his inability to return punts, he was never given a chance as a pass-catcher. Chalk that up to the lack of offseason or preseason. Osborn looked infinitely more confident in OTAs this year, hauling in big catches daily. The former fifth-round pick has a chance to redeem himself this season by making a run at the WR3 spot. There isn’t a lot of talent standing in his way besides Chad Beebe and Bisi Johnson.

TIGHT END: Zach Davidson

He’s 6’6″. He’s from Division II Central Missouri. He was a punter in college. And he was a long snapper in college.

The Vikings continue to find tight ends in obscure places, from UT-San Antonio (David Morgan) to Central Michigan (Tyler Conklin) to NAIA Marian (Brandon Dillon) and now Central Missouri. Zach Davidson‘s fascinating back story makes him the most interesting tight end in a room full of interesting tight ends. He narrowly beats out Shane Zylstra, the Mankato product (and Brandon Zylstra‘s brother) who is converting from wide receiver.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Ezra Cleveland

There aren’t any monster personalities like David Bakhtiari that will light up the Vikings’ offensive line group, but second-year guard Ezra Cleveland might subtly be the biggest wild card of the group. He was drafted as a tackle with a similar profile to Brian O’Neill, then never even got a look at tackle. His work at right guard in half a season seemingly cemented him as a guard for the foreseeable future, which could end up being a compelling what-if. What made the Vikings think Cleveland was a long-term guard, and why wasn’t he given a chance at his original position?

Cleveland’s trajectory should be interesting to all Vikings fans. His ability to protect Kirk Cousins from the left guard spot could dictate whether the Vikings’ offense will improve this season.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jaylen Twyman

Jaylen Twyman was recently involved in a scary random shooting in June that may jeopardize his ability to perform this preseason. Twyman will reportedly make a 100% recovery, but we aren’t yet aware of his recovery timeline. It’s an unfortunate chapter for one of the most unique Vikings draft picks.

In a feature I wrote at Purple Insider, I spoke with Twyman’s defensive line coach at Pittsburgh to learn more about his rise to become one of the most productive defensive tackles in college football, his odd decision to opt-out as a senior, and his relentless curiosity that has helped him make valuable connections. Of note, Twyman established a friendship with fellow Pittsburgh alum Aaron Donald, whose stats Twyman challenged when he had double-digit sacks as a junior.

When Twyman was drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round, he was brought to tears. Football seems to mean everything to him. Minnesota may value his commitment to the game — so long as he’s physically able to perform after his ill-timed encounter last month.

LINEBACKER: Chazz Surratt

Surratt had to fend off many challengers to become the most interesting Vikings linebacker, but his college backstory wins out. Surratt was a fledgling quarterback at North Carolina before reviving his career with a position switch to the defensive side of the ball. He also has a brother, Sage, who signed with the Detroit Lions as a receiver.

As mentioned, though, it’s an interesting group. Cameron Smith is trying to continue his career after heart surgery, Christian Elliss was literally playing FCS football games just weeks before the draft, and Tuf Borland is an awesome name to have for a linebacker.

CORNERBACK: Bashaud Breeland

Bashaud Breeland, who has played in two Super Bowls, earned this distinction when he introduced himself as “Breezy” during his introductory press conference and signed off with a strong 30 seconds comparing himself to Scottie Pippen, whose high school basketball jersey he was wearing.

“He’s one of the greats. A Hall of Fame player. He got just as many rings as Michael Jordan,” Breeland said. “He just don’t have the statue. But Scottie was a big part of that team. And I really feel like me and Scottie are similar in a sense. We come in and do what we do. We don’t fight for the credit. We just work.”

SAFETY: Camryn Bynum

Yes, Xavier Woods was brought in as a one-year stopgap beside Harrison Smith, but Camryn Bynum may be the future at the position. The Vikings quickly switched Bynum from corner to safety and appeared to fast-track him during OTAs. While most rookies were stuck with third-stringers, Bynum quickly received second-team reps, even above last year’s sixth-round pick Josh Metellus. He’s already been billed as one of the smartest young players in the Vikings secondary.

To top it off, here’s how he celebrated getting drafted:

SPECIALIST: Greg Joseph

As the projected starting placekicker on the Vikings, you are automatically on the interesting list. Sorry, Greg Joseph, but something eventful will happen to you at some point, and if Blair Walsh, Daniel Carlson, and Dan Bailey are evidence, that something may not be good.

Still, that’s awfully interesting.

Sam Ekstrom covers the Vikings with colleague Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Check out the Purple Insider Podcast here and consider subscribing to the Purple Insider newsletter for daily Vikings news from credentialed reporters. 

The sunny outlook for the Minnesota Vikings’ defense had a cloud cast over it Monday when Ian Rapoport reported that nose tackle Michael Pierce injured his calf while training. A story from the Star Tribune later indicated that Pierce could miss two weeks of training camp, which would almost certainly keep him out of the first preseason game on Aug. 14.

The Vikings and their fans have to be getting antsy to see a player who may be one of the five most important pieces to the defense thanks to his imposing size. It’s now been over 18 months since Pierce played football after sitting out last year due to COVID concerns, and now he may not suit up until the regular season at the earliest.

A minor calf injury may not raise red flags for many players, but concerns over Pierce are valid. Not only because leg injuries are troublesome for big linemen. Or that he dealt with lower-body issues in the 2019 season. Or that Danielle Hunter‘s allegedly minor injury turned into season-ending surgery last year. Beyond that, there is no one else like Pierce on the Vikings’ defense. Replacing a skilled 340 lb. man who is relatively athletic for his size is not a matter of plumbing the depths of free agency or elevating players from the bottom of the roster. If it was, the Vikings would have done it more effectively last year. Instead, they were left rudderless on their defensive line with an ill-suited rotation that struggled mightily to stop the run.

Shamar Stephen, Armon Watts, and Jaleel Johnson — three former Day 3 picks with below-average pass-rushing tools — were overmatched throughout last season as opponents recorded the sixth-most rushing yards in the league. If fact, opponents were almost as effective on the ground as the Vikings’ offense with its run-first offensive mindset and Dalvin Cook carrying the ball. Minnesota recorded 2,283 ground yards and 20 touchdowns last year compared to adversaries’ 2,151 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Head coach Mike Zimmer’s determination to maintain the run defense was demonstrated by signing Pierce as an apples-to-apples replacement for Linval Joseph, who left in free agency after the 2019 season. Zimmer and the front office doubled down this offseason, signing another run-stopping specialist, Dalvin Tomlinson, who has graded out as a top-30 run-stopper all four years of his career, per Pro Football Focus.

With Tomlinson in tow, the Vikings are unquestionably better equipped to handle a lengthy absence from Pierce. But that doesn’t mean they can replace him.

The Pierce-Tomlinson tandem was ostensibly designed to repel teams from even considering run plays between the tackles. Minnesota was counting on their nearly 700 lbs. of girth to keep opponents one dimensional, even if it meant sacrificing some pass-rushing prowess in the process. Without Pierce, the Vikings can’t fulfill that vision.

And a unique vision it is. As defensive lines across the league trend smaller and faster, the Vikings went bigger. Ironically, it’s the type of defensive line that would give Minnesota’s offensive line fits and probably will during training camp. Some may question the strategy of lowering pressure potential in the name of run-stuffing, but at minimum, the Vikings’ plan will give opponents a challenging puzzle to solve.

That is, if Minnesota gets Pierce and Tomlinson on the field.

If Pierce misses time, Sheldon Richardson will be a suitable fill-in with a near-decade-long track record of getting after quarterbacks. That’s a nice ace in the hole the Vikings found in free agency in mid-June — and Richardson may produce more pressure than Pierce even if he’s recently struggled against the run. But Minnesota assembled the two big bodies for a reason: to make sure last year’s regression doesn’t become a trend.

Zimmer has wanted a big body over the center every year of his head coaching career. Joseph was the team’s foundational nose tackle from 2014-19, and Pierce’s immediate acquisition shows Zimmer’s desperation to have that type of player. In Joseph’s six years on the roster, opponents never averaged better than 4.3 yards per carry in a season. Minnesota was second-best in the league at stopping third-and-short running plays, behind only the Seattle Seahawks.

The Vikings see Pierce as being on a Joseph-like trajectory: in his prime at age 28 and ready to develop his game even further under defensive line guru Andre Patterson.

“Before I even signed here, coach [Patterson] told me how he progressed Linval,” Pierce said in April, “and he’s been a great run-stopper, but he also got to the passer. We’ve got Jared Goff in this division, we’ve got Aaron Rodgers in this division – it’s imperative that you get to the passer. So bringing Dalvin [Tomlinson] in, he’s done a great job as a nose guard of getting to the passer. That’s something that I always desperately wanted to improve. I think my power is great and I have quickness and all that stuff, but for me, it’s putting those pieces together and progressing my game forward.”

Pierce getting to the passer and being a run-stopping force is a tantalizing thought. Vikings fans won’t be able to salivate just yet, though. Pierce will start training camp on the shelf, and Zimmer’s vision of a mammoth defensive line will have to wait a little longer.

Sam Ekstrom covers the Vikings with colleague Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Check out the Purple Insider Podcast here and consider subscribing to the Purple Insider newsletter for daily Vikings news from credentialed reporters.