4 biggest concerns for the 2021 Minnesota Vikings

Total implosion

This is something the Vikings coaching staff probably doesn’t have on their minds, but it is something fans are certainly concerned about.

Minnesota is a team that looks to be very much improved compared to a season ago. They get some key players back on defense like Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, and Anthony Barr, and they added plenty of talent in free agency and the draft earlier this year.

While the team looks primed and ready to compete for the NFC North crown, they could also have a complete and total implosion and look much different by their bye week. That could all start with a Hunter holdout.

He reportedly wasn’t happy with his contract a season ago, and apparently, he’s not expected to participate in the Vikings OTAs during the next few weeks. If this develops into a real issue and Hunter holds out into the preseason, things could get ugly.

A Hunter holdout could get Minnesota off to a slow start and this whole thing could unravel. If the Vikings start the 2021 campaign at 1-5 as they did a year ago, Zimmer will face unbelievable scrutiny and pressure. He will likely get fired and with him gone, there’s a good chance the Vikings’ owners would decide to move on from Rick Spielman as well.

This would put an interim coach in charge and veteran players like Harrison Smith, Adam Thielen, along with Hunter, could begin making noise about wanting to be traded. Kirk Cousins could also feel the negativity and the chants of Kellen Mond coming from the stands and the media to replace him could be overwhelming.

While the chances of this happening seem slim, Minnesota does start off the year with two road games and then they follow that up with two tough home matchups against the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns.

The Vikings could be possibly looking at an 0-4 start to the 2021 season and if that happens, the current version of the team could be blown up completely.