6 best players to spend only one season with the Vikings

Sheldon Richardson – DT (2018)

The defensive end from the University of Missouri was in the midst of a four-teams-in-four-years stint when he dropped by Minnesota in 2018. The Vikings were in a situation (it’s still ongoing) where the three-technique defensive tackle position was in flux after the once-promising Sharrif Floyd was beset by a career-ending injury.

Since 2015, Minnesota has tried Tom Johnson, Shamar Stephen, Sheldon Richardson, and probably somebody different in 2020, all at the three-technique spot.

Richardson signed on with Minnesota for a one-year, $8 million deal during the 2018 offseason. He played 69 percent of the Vikings defensive snaps, recorded 26 total tackles, 16 quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.

All in all, he forced 25 quarterback pressures. This is notable because in 2019, his replacement, Shamar Stephen, would force only two. Read that again, two pressures in 579 snaps.

The Richardson Experiment was punctuated during the 2019 offseason when he took his talents to The Dawg Pound in northeast Ohio to sign with the Cleveland Browns.