Mike Zimmer admittedly doesn’t enjoy public speaking. But at a Dunkers civic club gathering the other day in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings’ coach lit up the crowd with a fun anecdote, although Green Bay Packers fans might not consider it funny. Zimmer mentioned that the day before he had been having dinner at a restaurant. There was a couple at a table next to him. It turns out the husband was a Packers fan, the wife a Vikings fan. When the Packers guy mentioned something to Zimmer, the guy’s wife interrupted and said, ‘Hey, hon, did you hear the joke about Aaron Rodgers — he walked into a bar and broke his collarbone.” It was Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr’s jarring — and controversial — tackle of Rodgers last October in Minneapolis that resulted in collarbone surgery for the Packers’ future hall of fame QB. The Vikings last week officially celebrated their move from Eden Prairie to their new complex in Eagan. When the … [Read more...] about Charley Walters: Vikings’ Mike Zimmer shows his lighter side
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Vikings select Central Florida CB Mike Hughes with No. 30 pick in NFL draft
Minnesota Vikings New World Order (NWO) members KoolAid, left, and Steinarr great each other at the 2018 Vikings Draft Party in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 26, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Alizabeth Danielson, 7 month, and her mom Angela, behind Alaizabeth, from Lindstrom, have their photo taken with Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders at the 2018 Vikings Draft Party in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 26, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Minnesota Vikings fans do the Skol Cheer at the 2018 Vikings Draft Party in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 26, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)A family of Minnesota Vikings fans get their picture taken doingthe "Diggs" in front of a SKOL sign he 2018 Vikings Draft Party in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 26, 2018. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)As one the handful of Green Bay Packer fans at the 2018 Vikings Draft Party in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Jon Oostdyk … [Read more...] about Vikings select Central Florida CB Mike Hughes with No. 30 pick in NFL draft
Charley Walters: Will Vikings’ Danielle Hunter get franchise tag?
Now that the Minnesota Vikings have extended the contract of the first of their core potential free agents, linebacker Eric Kendricks last week for $50 million for five years, negotiations for defensive end Danielle Hunter could become very interesting. So much that it could take designating a franchise tag on Hunter if a mega-contract agreement can’t be reached. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Hunter, who has had 25.5 sacks in his first three seasons in Minnesota, doesn’t turn 24 until October. Talent that young is hard to find in the NFL, making Hunter’s value as a potential free agent after the coming season in the $15 million per year range. That’s more than Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen’s $14.5 million per season average. Franchising Hunter for the 2019 season could cost the Vikings about $18 million. The team can’t afford to let him go. Kendricks’ $50 million deal could turn out to be the least expensive of the Vikings’ other … [Read more...] about Charley Walters: Will Vikings’ Danielle Hunter get franchise tag?
NFL draft: Vikings couldn’t land O.J. Simpson, but Ron Yary worked out just fine
With the No. 1 overall pick in the 1968 NFL Draft, the Vikings were thinking hard about a player from the University of Southern California. They ended up taking star right tackle Ron Yary. But he wasn’t the initial USC player they were targeting. The Trojans were coming off the 1967 national championship with Yary blocking for tailback O.J. Simpson, who rushed for 1,543 yards and finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Simpson was a junior and ineligible for the draft, but that didn’t stop the Vikings from trying to come up with a way to acquire him. “We actually tried to trade the pick to somebody so we could get O.J. the next year,’’ said Bud Grant, the hall of fame coach who was entering his second season with the Vikings in 1968. “We thought maybe we could go through the league and we could postpone the pick until the next year, but there was no avenue for us. “It was more of a fantasy. So, we put that to bed and we all … [Read more...] about NFL draft: Vikings couldn’t land O.J. Simpson, but Ron Yary worked out just fine
Could small-town receiver Brandon Zylstra be Vikings’ next Adam Thielen?
Adam Thielen didn’t work his way into the Vikings’ starting lineup until his fourth year with the team. Brandon Zylstra is focused on following Thielen’s lead, but he’d like to move up the ranks quicker than that. Zylstra is drawing comparisons to Thielen for obvious reasons. Like Thielen, the wide receiver is from small-town Minnesota and went undrafted after playing at a small school outstate. Zylstra signed a reserve/futures deal with the Vikings on Jan. 3. He will begin spring drills with them April 16. “Coming in, my goals are going to be to not be on the practice squad,” Zylstra said. ‘I feel like I can come in and just compete for a starting spot. … Why not? I’m not going to be coming in and just expecting to be a backup. If I end up in a backup role, that’s cool. But I’m just going to keep working until I get that starting spot.” Thielen and Stefon Diggs are sure-fire starters in the fall. But Zylstra … [Read more...] about Could small-town receiver Brandon Zylstra be Vikings’ next Adam Thielen?