Dec 11, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Erin Henderson (50) before the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

Leslie Frazier is being his typical non-committal self when it comes to talk of the growing competition at linebacker between incumbent Erin Henderson and free agent acquisition Marvin Mitchell. Frazier was asked flat-out if Mitchell is pushing Henderson and Frazier insisted he is not…yet.

“I don’t know if he’s pushing [Henderson] for the starting job, but he’s giving us some depth that we didn’t have prior to signing him, as you know,” Frazier said. “But we’ll see. We’ll see how [Mitchell] performs in these preseason games. Erin still has to perform well. You don’t want to say things are locked up where we are right now. We need competition.”

Competition at weak-side linebacker was not something we expected to see coming into training camp. Erin Henderson held down that job in 2011, performing well enough to place on Pro Football Focus’ top 101 players list, and was considered one of the bigger locks on the defense for 2012. But perhaps we were too hasty in assuming Henderson had a starting job sealed up. He was signed to only a one-year deal after all. Despite all the accolades from tape geeks, it seems the Vikings were never fully convinced Henderson was the man for the job. And still aren’t.

One thing to keep in mind here: The Vikings did hire a new defensive coordinator this year in Alan Williams. Surely Williams had a hand in evaluating the roster ahead of free agency and the draft. It’s possible Williams looked at Henderson’s tape and decided he’s not a perfect fit for the defense he’s trying to install. We assume the Vikings will stick with some variation of their Tampa-2 – Williams was a Tampa-2 guy in Indianapolis – but there has also been talk of more man coverage and possibly more blitzing.

This is where Marvin Mitchell comes in. Mitchell played in Gregg Williams’ aggressive blitzing defense in New Orleans, albeit as a back-up, and developed a reputation as a sure-tackling downhill player. If the Vikings mean to become more aggressive in sending their linebackers, Mitchell might make more sense for the scheme than Henderson. Mitchell wasn’t a sack guy in New Orleans, notching only one in all his years there, but then again he was never a starter.

All this is only conjecture. What we know for sure is this: There’s a new positional battle heating up that we never expected. Adjust your depth chart projections accordingly.

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Dec. 14, 2008; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback (26) Antoine Winfield against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Alan Williams, the Vikings rookie defensive coordinator, isn’t afraid to make his mark on his defense. In his first training camp press conference, Williams said the Vikings will limit Antoine Winfield’s snaps in an effort to keep the 35-year-old healthy and fresh.

“We want to be smart about how we use him, about how we play him, and really … some of that’s going to be how fast some of our younger guys or some of the guys that we brought in come up to speed. So, that’s yet to be determined. But we do know that he’s going to be on a pitch count. What that pitch count is, I don’t know yet.”

Winfield has had his share of injury problems. He has missed 17 games in the last three years missing six games with a foot injury in 2009 and 11 combined games last year, four games with a neck strain and seven with a broken collarbone.

With each passing season, Winfield’s career draws nearer to an end and the Vikings come closer to complete incompetence at cornerback. The Vikings have spent plenty of draft picks trying to counteract this dilemma, but at this point, none are solving the problem.

2007 third-round pick Marcus McCauley never amounted to anything and now plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League. Asher Allen, 2009 third-round pick, failed to take the league by storm and surprisingly retired in May after just three years in the league citing a loss of passion for the game.

2006 second-round pick Cedric Griffin was a good player, but ended up tearing the ACLs in both his knees and is now getting torched by the speedsters in Redskins camp. 2010 second-round pick Chris Cook has shown promise, but Cook’s injuries and off-field issues have limited him to playing in only 12 games since coming into the league.

The Vikings signed eight-year veteran Chris Carr in free agency, and to this point, he has practiced as the third cornerback in the nickel package. But the 29-year-old Carr isn’t exactly a spring chicken, and Carr only played in nine games last year due to a hamstring injury. He is nothing but a short-term Band-Aid on this problem.

In April, the Vikings spent a third-round pick on cornerback Josh Robinson. It’s far too early to tell if he will pan out, but Robinson has been on the sidelines with a hamstring injury since Day 1 of training camp, and the Vikings haven’t had the best luck drafting corners.

Filling out the rest of the depth chart are Marcus Sherels, Brandon Burton and Zackary Bowman, who was a backup in Chicago before signing a one-year deal with Minnesota in free agency. Reggie Jones, a practice-squad player last year, may have emerged as a dark horse at cornerback, but we are a long way from deeming him the heir apparent.

For a team looking to rest the best player they have in the secondary, the Vikings don’t have a lot of backup options, especially against the pass-happy NFC North teams who know the Vikings weaknesses and will surely bring out four and five wide receiver sets often.

 ”The body’s not going to stay young forever,” Williams said of Winfield. “So he can rely on his years of experience to play and play well, and we realize that there are only so many reps that a body has.”

Winfield, who is smaller and slower than many NFL wide receivers, is better suited for the more physical style and shorter routes of the slot position, so his move to nickel and dime coverages makes sense.

But who can fill in on the outside?

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Aug 27, 2011; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Husain Abdullah (39) walks the sidelines in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at the Metrodome. The Cowboys win 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE

We won’t be seeing Husain Abdullah in the NFL in 2012. The free agent safety, who rose from UDFA status to become a reliable player with the Vikings, has elected to take the year off to fulfill his obligations as a Muslim, including attending the Haj in Mecca in October. Abdullah’s brother Hamza has also decided to put his NFL career on hold in the name of his Islamic faith.

For Husain there might be more behind this decision than simply his faith. Last year he suffered a season-ending concussion, the second major concussion event of his career, and after the season he reportedly went back-and-forth on whether to continue in the NFL and face further brain injury.  The Vikings were willing to welcome him back if he did elect to go on playing, but obviously Abdullah has other things on his mind besides football. He may decide to resume his career in the future, but after two concussions and a whole year off? Who knows if we’ll ever see him on the field again.

Had Abdullah returned to Minnesota, he would’ve been thrown into the mix for starting safety along with rookies Harrison Smith and Robert Blanton, 2011 sometime-starter Jamarca Sanford and 2011 draft pick Mistral Raymond. Now, with Abdullah off the table, the Vikings may turn to former Colts safety Melvin Bullitt as an extra option in the defensive backfield. The Vikings have reportedly shown interest in Bullitt, who played for new defensive coordinator Alan Williams in Indianapolis.

To Husain and Hamza Abdullah, have a safe pilgrimage.

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