Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers: #5

Throughout the history of the Minnesota Vikings, eight players have had the number 5 on their jersey. Six of those eight players only wore it for one season in Minnesota, but the two that did not both merit consideration.

The Vikings’ 2005 draft class was a complete disaster, but that season they did manage to snag punter Chris Kluwe as an undrafted free agent. Kluwe would be the Vikings’ punter for eight seasons, and he holds most of the significant punting records in team history. He is the Vikings’ all-time leader in yards per punt, and trails only Greg Coleman in punting average. We all know the story about his departure from the Vikings, but regardless of that, Kluwe could very well be the best punter this team has ever had.

As we all know, the man that currently wears the number 5 is quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater was drafted with the last pick of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and was thrust into the starting lineup three games into his rookie season after an injury to Matt Cassel. He hasn’t really put up huge numbers as a starting NFL quarterback yet, but appeared to be poised to before suffering a devastating knee injury a year ago during a practice. Pretty much everyone is still holding out hope that Bridgewater can make a full return and at least attempt to fulfill the potential he showed prior to his injury.

Vikings that have worn the number 5:

• Mike Wood (1978)
• Larry Miller (1987)
• Greg Davis (1997)
• Kyle Richardson (2002)
• Chris Kluwe (2005 - 2010, 2012)
• Donovan McNabb (2011)
• Teddy Bridgewater (2014 - present)

We’ll be moving on to the number 4 tomorrow, folks. . .and though I’m sure there will be plenty of people that won’t like it, there’s honestly only one real option for it.