Minnesota Vikings all-time 53-man roster: Mike Zimmer era

Defensive Tackles

DT1 – Linval Joseph

One of Minnesota’s biggest (literally) free-agent signings of the Mike Zimmer era was when they added Linval Joseph to the roster.

Joseph was a solid defensive tackle before he joined the Vikings. But it was in Minnesota where he really thrived as a force in the middle of the defensive line as he earned the only two Pro Bowl selections of his career while he was in purple and gold.

DT2 – Sheldon Richardson

Along with Kirk Cousins, Sheldon Richardson was brought in through free agency in 2018 to help the Vikings get over the hump and into the Super Bowl.

Well, Minnesota didn’t even make the playoffs during Richardson’s first year with the team. Still, the veteran defensive tackle had one of his best seasons as a pro while he was with Zimmer and the Vikings in 2018.

Minnesota enjoyed their time with Richardson so much that they signed him during free agency again in 2021 after the defensive tackle spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

DT3 – Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson is probably one of the most underrated Vikings players from the Zimmer era. Johnson excelled the most with Minnesota as a rotational piece of their defensive line.

DT4 – Sharrif Floyd

Like Teddy Bridgewater, Sharrif Floyd’s tenure with the Vikings has a giant “what if?” stamped across it.

Floyd was developing into a solid tag-team partner for Joseph in the middle of Minnesota’s defensive line. If not for a botched surgery in 2016, Floyd might have been one of the longest-tenured members of the Vikings during the Zimmer era.