The Minnesota Vikings have designated their team captains for the 2018 NFL season, choosing well-respected players who perform well on the field.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer chose six captains to lead his team in 2018 on Tuesday. Zimmer’s choices reflected his priorities of veteran leadership, quality of practice, study, and game performance.
For 2018, Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer has given six Vikings that honor according to the team’s official website:
- Quarterback Kirk Cousins
- Offensive tackle Riley Reiff
- Tight end Kyle Rudolph
- Defensive end Everson Griffen
- Defensive tackle Linval Joseph
- Linebacker Anthony Barr
Reiff, Griffen, and Rudolph are captains for the second consecutive year. In the eyes of some Viking fans, this is reassuring, as we have not seen a lot of these three players in the preseason, especially Everson, who the Viking defense relies on greatly.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins, getting his first opportunity on Sunday to walk onto the field in the regular season wearing the purple-and-gold, is no doubt proud to get Zimmer’s confidence in granting him a captain’s patch.
It may surprise some that Linval Joseph is getting the team captain designation for the first time in his Viking career, and perhaps even more surprising that Anthony Barr will be beside him, wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey for the initial time also.
For Joseph, the recognition may be in regard to his extra efforts in leading new defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson and the younger defensive linemen into the team fold.
For Barr, some might guess it is an appreciation of his maturity as a leader and acknowledgment of his future as Viking.
The Minnesota Vikings have a fairly young team. Mike Zimmer, as he usually does, has clearly chosen veteran players to lead them. It’s hard to argue against the choices he’s made.