Vikings enter 2021 as one of the NFL’s youngest teams

With the number of veteran departures they have seen over the past couple of seasons, it’s easy to see that the Minnesota Vikings are getting younger as a football team. However, even I was surprised by just how much younger they have gotten. The purple will enter the 2021 season as one of the youngest teams in the entire National Football League.

According to Andrew Walker, who covers the Indianapolis Colts, the Vikings are tied for the distinction of being the second-youngest team in the NFL, with an average age of 24.74 years old.

If you look at the roster, the two oldest players on it are special teamers: punter Britton Colquitt (age 36) and long snapper Andrew DePaola (33). The other key contributors to the Vikings that are currently 30 or over are quarterback Kirk Cousins (32), safety Harrison Smith (32), and cornerback Patrick Peterson (30), and wide receiver Adam Thielen (30). Linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks are both nearing age 30, but most of the top players for the purple are younger than that.

I’m sure that this doesn’t mean a heck of a lot in the grand scheme of things. After all, these figures currently include all of the players that are going to get cut during Training Camp and don’t have a great shot at making the team, but I do believe that it’s a positive trend to see that the Vikings are getting younger and relying more on players that still have plenty of developing to do.