The Minnesota Vikings are… Old

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Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings
An image from June 5, 2024 of Day 2 of Offseason Mini Camp at TCOPC in Eagan, MN.Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the NFL’s youngest general managers, in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. They also employ one of the league’s youngest head coaches, in Kevin O’Connell. Their superstar, Justin Jefferson, is only 25-years-old and they just drafted a 21-year-old quarterback of the future, in JJ McCarthy.

Prior to McCarthy’s season-ending knee injury, the vibes at TCO Performance Center felt fresh. It was the start of a new era. That is still partially true, even after McCarthy was placed on season-ending injured reserve, instead of the 53-man roster. With Kirk Cousins out of the picture, the atmosphere is naturally going to feel different.

Geriatric 2024 Minnesota Vikings?

But now that NFL rosters have been whittled down, a closer look at the ages of Minnesota Vikings players does not reveal a young roster busting with young 20-something talents. In fact, the Vikings will enter the 2024 season with one of the oldest rosters in the National Football League.

The above chart has the Viking currently the 2nd oldest team in the NFL, at 27.2 years old, on average. You think about some of the most important players on this roster.

Harrison Smith is 35, Stephon Gilmore is (pretty much) 34, Brian O’Neill is (pretty much) 29, Aaron Jones is 29. So are Shaq Griffin and Garrett Bradbury. Of course, rosters are changing everyday, throughout the NFL. That’s not only true right now, but all the time. There are other factors in-play, too.

For example, Bookies.com claims to use a more exact science of totaling up ages for each team. Their rankings dropped on Thursday, and they had the Minnesota Vikings at No. 7. But no matter how you slice it, our favorite football team is one of the oldest in the NFL.

  1. Browns – 27 years, 11 months, 17 days
  2. 49ers – 27 years, 7 months, 14 days
  3. Dolphins – 27 years, 7 months, 2 days
  4. Jets – 27 years, 6 months, 31 days
  5. Panthers – 27 years, 6 months, 30 days
  6. Bills – 27 years, 5 months, 29 days
  7. Vikings – 27 years, 4 months, 23 days
  8. Commanders – 27 years, 1 month, 29 days
  9. Bears – 27 years, 1 month, 24 days
  10. Titans – 27 years, 1 months, 14 days

Is being old bad?

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But it does add to some of the pressure that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is under to prove to ownership that this organization, and the direction it is currently traveling, is in a good place. The Wilfs do not like to lose, and both KOC and Kwesi have just two years remaining on their contracts.

Veteran teams are supposed to win and the Vikings are not projected to do a whole lot of that, in 2024. Most sportsbooks have them at 6.5 wins and a dead-last finish in the NFC North. If that’s how things play out, then what? We’ve all heard about the stacks of cash they will have to spend, under the salary cap, for the 2025 season.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Interested in Another Talented Young Quarterback?

But would it make sense to double down on a losing team that is way older than they are good? Time will tell, but any talk about 2024 being a rebuild year needs to be thrown out the window, given the veteran status of this team. The expectation should be playoffs or bust.

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