Minnesota Vikings Roster: By Age

In the week since the roster was trimmed to 53 players, the Minnesota Vikings signed 35-year old outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy and brought back 37-year old safety Harrison Smith. With those two additions, there’s now a curious and substantial experience to the roster, in general, and defense, in particular. Here’s a look at the 53-man roster broken down by age. Van Noy was initially signed to the practice squad. Until he jumps to the active roster, his advanced age isn’t reflected in this breakdown. 

Minnesota Vikings Roster: By Age

39

Andrew DePaola

37

Harrison Smith

33

Carson Wentz

31

Eric Wilson

Andrew Van Ginkel

Aaron Jones Sr.

30

Brian O’Neill

Blake Cashman

29

James Pierre

Josh Oliver

Kyler Murray

Jauan Jennings

T.J. Hockenson

Blake Brandel

28

Ryan Van Demark

Isaiah Rodgers

Byron Murphy Jr.

Joshua Metellus

Will Fries

27

Jalen Redmond

Jordan Mason

Justin Jefferson

Theo Jackson

Christian Darrisaw

26

Jay Ward

Brett Thorson

Levi Drake Rodriguez

Bo Richter

Trevor Keegan

25

Nick Samac

Will Reichard

Ivan Pace Jr.

24

Ben Yurosek

Zemaiah Vaughn

Myles Price

Joe Huber

Jordan Addison

23

Elijah Williams

Dallas Turner

Caleb Tiernan

Jakobe Thomas

J.J. McCarthy

Donovan Jackson

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins

Jake Golday

Tai Felton

Chuck Demmings

Chaz Chambliss

Max Bredeson

Gavin Bartholomew 

Caleb Banks

22

Jacob Thomas

Domonique Orange

Demond Claiborne

***

Since the Vikings have yet to announce a corresponding roster move after the addition of Harrison Smith, the roster currently holds 54 players. 

Assuming Kyle Van Noy will soon be added to the 53-man roster, the Vikings defense will occasionally have five players on the field over the age of 30.

Harrison Smith - 37

Kyle Van Noy - 35

Eric Wilson - 31

Andrew Van Ginkel - 31

Blake Cashman - 30

No worries. The Vikings also have some promising defensive players under the age of 25 playing with and learning from those graybeards.

Jakobe Thomas - 23

Jacob Thomas - 22

Jake Golday - 23

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins - 23

Chuck Demmings - 23

Caleb Banks - 23

Domonique Orange - 22

If all goes as planned, those youngsters will supplement a smart, experienced defense now and lead it in a couple years. 

Brian Flores has crafted a defense of smart players. For that defense to operate at its best, experienced and instinctive defenders like Harrison Smith, Joshua Metellus, Byron Murphy Jr., Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and Andrew Van Ginkel are needed. 

I fell for the Vikings in the 1970s when the team was filled with brilliant players in their 30s. It was an experienced group that made Super Bowl appearances routine. Winning the damn game was the difficulty. As a young Vikings fan, that was my normal. While experience is a characteristic shared by these teams separated by decades, the current Vikings team is downright youthful compared to those great teams. Hopefully, the splash of experience is what it takes to finally get back to the Super Bowl. Just win it this time!