3 players the Vikings wish they still had on their current roster

Who are the Minnesota Vikings missing the most this season?

During the 2020 offseason, the Minnesota Vikings made a bunch of changes to their roster, mainly on the defensive side of the ball.

With Mike Zimmer’s strong defensive background, the Vikings felt that they wouldn’t have much trouble replacing the production lost on defense this year. However, Zimmer and Minnesota have quickly learned that they probably shouldn’t have parted ways with some of their longtime defensive contributors this offseason.

The Vikings are currently sitting with an 0-3 record and they have one of the worst defenses in the entire NFL that is giving up the second-most points per game. Prior to 2020, Minnesota’s defense has never ranked lower than 11th in points allowed since Zimmer became the team’s head coach in 2014.

The Vikings can’t stop the run, they can’t defend the pass, and they can’t put pressure on the opposing quarterback. These are all things that their defense has been able to excel at during the majority of Zimmer’s tenure.

He likely wouldn’t admit it, but the Minnesota head coach probably wishes that some of the veteran defenders from the team’s 2019 roster were still with the team this season. Who are some of these former Vikings players Zimmer and the front office likely regret parting ways with this year?