4 former Vikings who won’t be back for the 2021 season

Sheldon Richardson – DT

After one year with the Vikings in 2018, Sheldon Richardson took advantage of the opportunity to cash in during free agency, and he ended up signing a lucrative deal to join the Cleveland Browns.

Richardson performed well for Cleveland in 2019 and 2020, but this year, the team decided to shed $11 million in cap space, and they released Richardson.

This is the case with just about every former Minnesota player, but there was some discussion inside the fan base of the team potentially bringing Richardson back for the upcoming season.

But this idea was quickly squashed when everyone was reminded about the Vikings not currently having a starting job available for Richardson since Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce are holding it down right now at the top of the team’s defensive tackle depth chart.

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Minnesota has struggled to generate much of a pass-rush from the three-technique spot ever since Richardson left two seasons ago. But the former Vikings defensive tackle likely isn’t ready to take a backup role in his career just yet, so don’t expect him to re-join Minnesota this year.