Minnesota Vikings: 12 Vikings Who've Played Their Last Game in Purple

The Minnesota Vikings' 17-13 loss to the Chicago Bears on New Year's Day was a microcosm of the entire season.

In another close loss the Vikings were one or two plays from winning their first division game since beating Detroit in Week 3 of the 2010 season.  They suffered injuries to key players, forcing the coaching staff to alter their game plan with backups to backups, and there was some questionable play calling in critical situations that left many fans scratching their heads.

Mercifully, the worst season in Vikings history has come to an end, and with it the careers of several players.

On Sunday, Vikings fans at the Metrodome got the opportunity to say goodbye to Jim Kleinsasser, the Vikings' longest tenured player in his 13th season out of the University of North Dakota. 

Kleinsasser can walk away from the game under his terms, with a long, successful career. For others, their exits won't be so heralded.

After finishing last in the NFC North for the second straight season, the Vikings roster will have a much different look before the 2012 season. With the third overall pick in the draft the team will get a player that will make an immediate impact towards turning things around for the purple.

With so many positions in need of upgrades, and an aging roster, here are 12 players whose careers with the Vikings should be over.

Cornerback Chris Cook

In two seasons, knee problems and legal issues have limited cornerback Chris Cook to 12 games since being drafted in the second round in 2010.

After being charged with felony domestic assault in late October, head coach Leslie Frazier suspended Cook for four games. Although Frazier reinstated him to the roster after two weeks, he did not allow him to participate in any team activities, despite key injuries to the defensive backfield. 

Cook will have his day in court sometime in March of 2012. Regardless of the outcome, he has not demonstrated enough talent on the field to be with the team next season.

Cornerback Benny Sapp

There's a reason that the Vikings were able to sign Benny Sapp, the player they traded to Miami for wide receiver Greg Camarillo: he's not that good.

Sapp was released by the Dolphins after the first game of the season when Tom Brady passed for 517 yards in Week 1, and had not played until the Vikings signed him for Week 11.

Sapp didn't help his chances of staying with the team after being cited for misdemeanor assault two days before the Vikings' last game of the season.

Wide Receiver Greg Camarillo

Speaking of Greg Camarillo...

The Vikings desperately need to upgrade at receiver for 2012.

With only nine catches in 13 games this season, and only 29 catches in 29 games over two seasons with the Vikings, Camarillo should have played his last game in Minnesota.

If he couldn't make a bigger impact on the team after the release of Bernard Berrian and the injury to Michael Jenkins, the Vikings are wasting a roster spot on the six-year veteran.

Cornerback Cedric Griffin

Everyone knew that this was going to be a tough year for cornerback Cedric Griffin after attempting to come back from back-to-back ACL tears to both knees.

After playing in only two games for the Vikings in 2010, Griffin was able to play in all 16 games this season.

The problem is that Griffin appeared to forget how to play cornerback.

It got so bad for Griffin that in the Week 14 loss to the Lions, head coach Leslie Frazier benched him after allowing Lions receiver Titus Young to score on a 57-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Griffin, who led the Vikings with four interceptions in 2009, got his only pick of the season in the finale against the Bears.

Cornerback Antoine Winfield

Might as well stick with the cornerback position.

The Vikings defense as a whole only had eight interceptions this season. The last time they had this few was 2001, when they finished 5-11—the fewest wins they ever had in a season between 2001 and 2011.  This is not a coincidence.

The Vikings lost cornerback Antoine Winfield for the season after suffering a broken clavicle against the Packers in Week 10.

Over the last three seasons Winfield, who will be 35 before next season,  has missed 18 games.

In his favor, he is signed through the 2013 season. Due to a clause in his contract, his base salary for 2012 will be reduced from $7 million to $3 million after being removed from the starting lineup.

While it is not out of the question that the Vikings would jettison four cornerbacks from this season's roster, Winfield is most likely the only one to remain.

If Winfield is with the team next season it will be as the nickel back, or shifting him to safety.

Left Guard Steve Hutchinson

Steve Hutchinson has been extremely durable in his career since being drafted in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2001.

Unfortunately, Hutchinson, who turned 35 last November, has not been as durable or effective lately.

The last two seasons the seven-time Pro Bowler has played in five games. While that isn't many, over the previous seven seasons from 2003 to 2009, Hutchinson did not miss a single game.

Hutchinson is considering retirement after not recovering as quickly as he would have liked from a concussion suffered in the game against the Saints in Week 15.

Right Guard Anthony Herrera

Anthony Herrera has missed 12 games over the past three seasons.

Herrera missed playing time this season due to an injury to the knee he had surgically repaired in the offseason and a lower back injury. 

Herrera will be 32 next season, and with the injuries limiting his effectiveness his future with the team is questionable.

Left Tackle Charlie Johnson

It wouldn't be a surprise if the Vikings' offensive line in 2012 consists of three new starters.

Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder took a beating this season.

In only 11 games he was sacked 30 times, suffering a hip pointer and a concussion that made it tough for the rookie to shine.

Before the season started, head coach Leslie Frazier made the decision to release Bryant McKinnie when he reported to training camp overweight and out of shape. Hopefully he learned the lesson that you can't improve talent through coaching.

Before signing Charlie Johnson as a free agent to replace McKinnie, the Colts were already contemplating moving the six-year veteran to guard.

In the meantime, McKinnie started all 16 games on the same offensive line with former Viking Matt Birk for the Baltimore Ravens who finished the season 12-4.

Running Back Lorenzo Booker

The Vikings have plenty of questions going in to next season at running back.

How effective will Adrian Peterson be after having successful surgery to repair both his ACL and MCL in his left knee?

With backup running back Toby Gerhart suffering a sprain to the MCL of his left knee on Sunday, that left the Vikings without a capable running back to close the season against the Bears.

Lorenzo Booker only had two carries for minus-three yards.There's a reason he was playing in the UFL before the Vikings signed him for the final four games of 2010—he is not an NFL running back.

In 19 games with the Vikings he only has 13 carries. While he has done a decent job returning kickoffs, the Vikings will need a third running back that can step up next year.

Tight End Visanthe Shiancoe

There will be a changing of the guard at tight end next season for the Minnesota Vikings.

Visanthe Shiancoe, who is a free agent for next season, did not catch a single pass in the Vikings' final three games.

His production continued to diminish from his career year of 2009 when he had 56 receptions and 11 touchdowns.

This past season he caught only 36 passes and recorded three touchdowns. Many of the balls thrown to Shiancoe went in the direction of rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph finished with 26 catches and matched Shiancoe's three touchdowns.

It is unlikely the Vikings will re-sign Shiancoe, ending his five-year stay with Minnesota.

Kicker Ryan Longwell

The NFL moved the kickoff up five yards, to the 35 for the 2011 season.

This was seen as a good thing for Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell as a way to extend his career.

It didn't help.

The Vikings ranked 29th in the NFL with only 24.4 percent of their kickoffs resulting in a touchback.

Last season Longwell scored only 81 points—the lowest in his career.

While he improved to score 104 points this season, Longwell made only 78.6 percent of his field goal attempts—his lowest field goal percentage since 2005, the last season he played in Green Bay.

Even though Longwell is under contract through the 2014 season, the Vikings need to find someone who can put the ball in the end zone. If that someone is not punter Chris Kluwe, then Lonwell, who turns 38 in August, may find himself in another uniform.

Linebacker E.J. or Erin Henderson

The Vikings linebackers were nothing special this season. While Chad Greenway and E.J. Henderson were the top two tacklers for the Vikings, the trio including E.J.'s little brother Erin did not have a single interception on the season, and only recorded a total of 5.5 sacks.

Looking back on the season I cannot recall a single play made by a Vikings linebacker that changed the balance in the game, or gave the team some momentum.

With some talk about the Vikings looking to shift to a 3-4 defense, allowing the likes of Jared Allen and Everson Griffin to play standing up on the outside, something will have to give elsewhere.

The problem is that after signing Greenway to five-year $41 million contract, the odds of him going anywhere are slim.

This leaves one of the Henderson brothers as questionable to return to the Vikings.

E.J., who will be 32 before next season, did not play as well as he did last year when he made the Pro Bowl, while leading the Vikings with three interceptions.

Erin, who is six years younger than E.J., may have the greater upside as this was his first season as a starter.  

In Summary...

There is quite a bit of talent on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

Defensively, this is a team that can still be built around defensive ends Jared Allen and Brian Robison. Second-year defensive end Everson Griffin has a huge upside, along with rookie defensive tackle Christian Ballard.  Third-year safety Jamarca Sanford will continue to get better, as he led the Vikings with two interceptions, and his two fumble recoveries were second to Allen on the defense.

Offensively, the Vikings have some very exciting players such as Percy Harvin and Kyle Rupolph. Toby Gerhart will continue to be a good change of pace back for Adrian Peterson, who is the wild card in all of this.

Once the Vikings put together a decent offensive line, and Christian Ponder is completely healthy, the offense will be all right.

Hope springs eternal, and with a high draft pick, and some experience in the coaching staff, I am looking forward to 2012—after all, it can't get any worse, right?