Terence Newman announces retirement, will join Vikings coaching staff

We have just received word that Minnesota Vikings cornerback Terence Newman has announced his retirement from the NFL and that he will immediately be joining the team’s coaching staff.

Newman, who turns 40 in just three days, was set to be the oldest defensive player in the National Football League this season. He came back on a one-year contract that he signed this offseason, proclaiming that this was going to be his final year in the NFL.

Newman came to the Vikings in 2015, and played in 47 of 48 possible games as a member of the team. He had shown the flexibility to play both cornerback and safety over the course of the time he was here, and the indications to this point had been that he was going to continue to fill that role for the team going forward.

Newman didn’t see a whole lot of time this preseason, and with the glut of young talent the Vikings have in the defensive backfield, Newman apparently thought it was time to hang up his cleats.

Newman also has a long relationship with Mike Zimmer, going back to his days with the Dallas Cowboys. It’s not a surprise that he will be joining the Vikings’ coaching staff, though it has not been declared in exactly what capacity he will be serving at the present time.

We would like to congratulate Terence Newman on a long and successful NFL career, and here’s hoping that he can sustain that success as a coach on the Minnesota sidelines. We will no doubt have more discussion of this over the next few days.