Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers: #18

In the history of the Minnesota Vikings, only six players have worn the number 18 (seven, if you count wide receiver Michael Floyd, who has not played a game that counts for the purple yet). The number was worn for the first two seasons in team history, and then it took almost three decades off before someone else picked it up again.

Of the two primary players we’re going to look at here, the first one is a punter. Harry Newsome came to the Vikings in 1990 after a five-year run with the Pittsburgh Steelers. When it comes to punters, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about, though he did finish in the top ten in punting average in three of his four seasons with Minnesota. Newsome does have the distinction of having more punts blocked than any punter in NFL history with 14, but only two of those came while he was a member of the Vikings.

The other player is a classic case of “what if.” Wide receiver Sidney Rice was a second round pick of the Vikings in 2007, and spent much of his career plagued by injuries. He did have one truly great season in purple, and that came in 2009. Serving as Brett Favre’s primary “I’m just gonna chuck it up and you go get it” receiver, Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. He couldn’t match it at all after that, as he only played in six games the next season because of injuries, and then moved on to play three years with the Seattle Seahawks.

Honorable mention to wide receiver/kick returner Koren Robinson, who made the Pro Bowl in his one season with the Vikings in 2005, largely because of his return prowess. However, he ran into personal issues during the 2006 preseason, and the Vikings let him go. That one season he had, however, was pretty outstanding.

Vikings that have worn the number 18:

• Mike Mercer (1961 - 1962)
• Harry Newsome (1990 - 1993)
• Tony Bland (1998)
• Koren Robinson (2005)
• Sidney Rice (2007 - 2010)
• Jeff Locke (2013 - 2016)

That’s the number 18 in Minnesota Vikings’ history, everyone, On to the number 17 tomorrow.