Minnesota Vikings: 5 Key Veterans Who Will Take a Backseat in 2012

When the Minnesota Vikings cut three veteran starters two weeks ago, the message from the front office was pretty clear: This team is in full-on rebuilding mode.

Gone are six-year starter and All-Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson, eight-year veteran and five-year starter Anthony Herrera, and six-year veteran—mostly as a starter—cornerback Cedric Griffin.

All three were key cogs on a team who, just three seasons ago, was among the best in the league. But three years in the NFL can be a lifetime, and after a 3-13 season in 2011, it was time for the front office to cut some of the fat from the roster.

It remains to be seen what Minnesota decides to do with several of its remaining veteran free agents, but it's highly doubtful that all of them will be back. With several of their best players nearing free agency, the Vikings had to pare down their cap space and move on with a much younger roster. 

And while the Vikings can't completely revamp their roster in one offseason, many of the veterans brought back will find their roles on the team reduced as they look to rebuild. Here are five veterans who will find their roles diminished in 2012.

Remi Ayodele, DT

The photo above is a rare sight that's seen about as often as the Loch Ness Monster. It's Minnesota defensive lineman Remi Ayodele about to make a tackle. I promise you Vikings fans, it's not Photoshopped. My guess is Tim Tebow broke free and made something happen for the Broncos, but I suppose it could be one of the four solo tackles Ayodele made in 2011.

The Vikings signed Ayodele before the 2011 season hoping he could fill the void left by the departure of Pat Williams in the middle of the Vikings defensive line. Instead of showing the Vikings the player who helped beat them in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, Ayodele only showed them why he'd been cut six times in his career.

It was a hugely disappointing season for Ayodele, and he's only on the minds of Vikings fans because they keep hearing about him blowing up Brett Favre during the Saints' bounty-gate story.

Ayodele has almost certainly lost his job as a starter to Letroy Guion and, unless he shows up for camp in 2012 as a new man, Ayodele will only be used as a depth player in the coming season.

Michael Jenkins, WR

Simply stated, Vikings wide receiver Michael Jenkins has never looked as good on the field as he does on paper.

At 6'4" and 215 pounds, with above-average speed and good hands, you would think Jenkins would have had a far more productive career than he's put together. Signed as a free agent by the Vikings to fill the void left by the departure of Sidney Rice, Jenkins was average, at best, in 2011. 

It became clear early on last fall that Jenkins would be nothing more than he's ever been—a dependable third or fourth receiver who lacks the explosiveness to be anything more than that. Eight years into a career that has probably seen its best days, Jenkins has never caught more than 53 balls in a season, never had as much as 800 yards receiving and only had more than five touchdowns in a year once.

Jenkins will be on the Vikings roster in 2012, but it's clear he can only be a third receiver, at best. 

Devin Aromashodu, WR

The Vikings added Devin Aromashodu to the roster in 2011 with high hopes that they had found a hidden gem who just hadn't gotten enough opportunity to show what he was capable of in his three previous years in the league. 

It doesn't look like it.

Aromashodu had a great month for the Bears at the end of the 2010 season, but after getting plenty of opportunity in 2011, it seems there is a reason Aromashodu was a seventh-round pick coming out of Auburn in 2007.

While he had his best year with 26 catches for 468 yards and an average 18 yards a catch last season, Aromashodu will never be anything more than a third receiver in the league. There is hope that with a maturing Christian Ponder at quarterback, Aromashodu can get more comfortable in an offense that never got going in 2011.

The Vikings will be looking for a big-time receiver in the draft, and if they take one in the second round, that player will be given every opportunity to start from Day 1, which would leave Aromashodu as the fourth receiver, at best.

Antoine Winfield, CB

Unlike the previous slides in this slideshow, nobody would ever dare say Antoine Winfield hasn't gotten the most out of his NFL career. 

Winfield is an old-school warrior who has carried on the tradition of the Purple People Eaters during his eight years in a Vikings uniform.

The problem is nothing more than father time. Winfield will be entering his 14th season in 2012 at the age of 35. Nobody has done a better job of sacrificing his body over the years, but with that has come numerous injuries that have taken their toll on Winfield.

Though he can still play the run as well as any corner in the league, Winfield can no longer cover first-string wideouts. He has to be on the field, and one of the tasks at hand for new defensive coordinator Alan Williams will be how to best use Winfield and how to get the most production out of him.

The Vikings secondary was in absolute shambles last season, so Winfield will still be a valuable piece, but they cannot count on him to be an every-play type of guy at this point in his career.

Mike Singletary, Special Assistant to Head Coach/Linebackers Coach

Mike Singletary might have been one of the best linebackers to ever play in the NFL, but let's face it, so far his coaching credentials are more XFL than Hall of Fame.

As we've all read a million times by now, Jim Harbaugh took basically the same 49ers roster that Singletary steered to a 6-10 record and brought them to within a game of the Super Bowl. Harbaugh took Vernon Davis, a player Singletary had publicly blasted on more than one occasion, and turned him into one of the very best players in the league.

Leslie Frazier brought Singletary on as linebackers coach last season, and it seemed pretty obvious from the get-go that Singletary's heart just wasn't in it. 

Last year's defensive coordinator, Fred Pagac, has been named linebackers coach as the team brought on Alan Williams to run the defense. So why is Singletary still here? If it's just because he goes way back with Frazier, his friend and former teammate, well that's not good enough.

Singletary has every possible credential on the football field, but not on the sidelines. It played out that instead of being the answer in San Francisco, he was part of the problem. Frazier may not want to tie him onto his coaching future.