5 forgotten former members of the Minnesota Vikings

Ben Tate – RB

Ben Tate joined the Vikings in the midst of the team’s 2014 season after Minnesota star running back Adrian Peterson was lost for the year after facing criminal charges related to child abuse.

The Vikings eventually became desperate as both parts of the two-headed monster they had used to replace Peterson, Jerrick McKinnon and Matt Asiata ended up sustaining injuries. This desperation led to Minnesota claiming Tate off of waivers in Week 12.

Tate was a former second-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2010 Draft. His career with the Texans got off to a rough start as he broke his ankle in his first preseason game and missed his entire rookie season.

He eventually returned to the field and played for three more years with Houston, having his best season in 2011 where he ran for just under 1,000 yards and had four touchdowns.

Tate originally signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent heading into the 2014 season. But wasn’t happy with his role as part of a triple-threat rushing attack and he made his frustration known to the Cleveland media.

That public griping likely helped end his eight-game tenure with the Browns and in that span, he ran for just 333 yards while also making four trips to the end zone.

The Vikings then rolled the dice on Tate and the team’s fans seemed excited and hopeful about his addition as he was a fairly high profile name at the time.

However, things didn’t work out for Tate in Minnesota. He played in just three games and ran for only 38 yards on 13 carries in a Vikings uniform.

Minnesota ultimately decided to release him on Christmas Day and his time with the team was a present that Vikings fans will cherish for a lifetime.