Cornerback Terence Newman Visits Minnesota Vikings

If Mike Zimmer continues bringing in enough of his former players, maybe one of them will end up signing with the Minnesota Vikings. Maybe.

Zimmer and company took another shot at a former member of the Cincinnati Bengals, as they had a visit with cornerback Terence Newman on Monday.

Newman doesn't fit the profile of the sort of guy that the Vikings might bring in as a free agent because. . .well, he's kind of old. He was the fifth overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft. . .the same year as Kevin Williams. . .by the Dallas Cowboys out of Kansas State. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Cowboys before moving on to Cincinnati in 2012. In his career, he's started 172 of 174 games (including all 41 of his career games as a member of the Bengals) and has 37 career interceptions.

I'm not sure how serious the interest is between Newman and the Vikings. . .to my knowledge, nobody even knew that Newman was visiting until after he left. . .and he went on to visit the New England Patriots after leaving Minnesota.  Zimmer may have some interest in him to come in and mentor some players in a very young Minnesota secondary, and he could prove to be a useful stopgap for a season or two as well. If he were to sign with the Vikings, he would surpass newly-acquired backup quarterback Shaun Hill as the oldest player on the roster, as he turns 37 in September.

The Vikings have already swung and missed at guard Clint Boling and defensive end Michael Johnson on the free agent market so far. But, maybe the third time will be a charm, and the Vikings will find themselves saying. . .