Minnesota Vikings Fielding One Of The NFL's Youngest Rosters

The National Football League is a young man's game, and the Minnesota Vikings have positioned themselves as one of the youngest teams in the sport.

Jimmy Kempski from Philly.com examined the rosters of every team in the league after they set their 53-man rosters, and found that the Vikings have the fifth-youngest roster in the NFL and the third-youngest in the NFC.

The average age across the Minnesota Vikings' roster is 25.58 years of age. In the NFC, only the St. Louis Rams (25.09) and the Dallas Cowboys (25.44) skew younger. The Rams. . .who the Vikings will see on Sunday in the 2014 season opener. . .are the youngest team in the NFL for the third consecutive season.

In the NFC North, the Green Bay Packers are right behind the Vikings at #6 (25.62), while the Vikings' other NFC North rivals are further down the list. The Detroit Lions are at #21 with an average age of 26.34 years, while the Chicago Bears are one of the league's oldest teams, coming in at #30 with an average age of 26.72.

With the Vikings' roster the way it sits at the present time, they only have eight players that are over the age of 30. Long snapper Cullen Loeffler is the elder statesman of the team at the ripe old age of 33. Reserve offensive lineman Joe Berger and quarterback Matt Cassel are both 32, while linebacker Chad Greenway and defensive end Brian Robison are both 31. Three other players, wide receiver Greg Jennings, guard Charlie Johnson, and defensive tackle Tom Johnson, have all reached the big 3-0.

The Minnesota Vikings have gotten significantly younger over the last few seasons, and with Rick Spielman's desire to get younger through the draft rather than spending on a lot of older free agents, it wouldn't be surprising to see them retain that status for a number of years to come.