On Jan. 13, while the Vikings were less than 48 hours removed from their season-ending divisional playoff loss to the 49ers and still weeks away from the peak of subterfuge season, coach Mike Zimmer gave what might have been the most telling assessment of how the team's offseason was going to go.
"At the end of the day, it ends up being a young man's game," Zimmer said. "The more that we as coaches can help develop these young guys, the quicker that we can help develop them, the better it is for them.
"You always like to see guys have success, whether it's a young guy that you've grown and he becomes a free agent and goes to have success with some other team, or it's a guy that's here that you've helped develop to become a good player here. All those things are important to us."
A frenetic first week of free agency brought to light what Zimmer was hinting at back then: Linval Joseph signed with the Chargers days after the Vikings released him. Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander _ free agent corners the Vikings decided to let hit the open market _ got new deals from Cincinnati. And on Friday, defensive end Everson Griffen posted a goodbye message to Vikings fans on Instagram after the team and its longest-tenured player mutually decided to part ways.
With Joseph, Stephen Weatherly, Waynes, Alexander and Andrew Sendejo already on different rosters and Xavier Rhodes and Griffen still on the open market, a defense that's enjoyed remarkable continuity will have more new starters than in perhaps any season since Mike Zimmer's first year in 2014. And the Vikings' success in 2020 could hinge on their coaches' ability to develop players quickly.
