5 former Vikings players the team could bring back in 2023

Former Viking No. 2

Justin Coleman - CB

The average Viking fan may not know or remember that cornerback Justin Coleman was signed as an undrafted free agent by the team in 2015. Coleman didn't make the final 53 that year, and he went on to have success with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

At this juncture of his career, he is a free agent and someone who could look to come full circle and finish his career where it started.

Coleman isn't the player he used to be. In his prime in 2018 and 2019, Coleman was a force against the run, and he was excellent in coverage, while also showing a knack for breaking up passes.

He never was a ballhawk, but he had always been a solid, fundamentally sound player who was rarely a liability. He also played under current Minnesota defensive coordinator Brain Flores when the two were with the Miami Dolphins in 2021, so there is some familiarity there.

The Vikings' current group of cornerbacks is a very inexperienced one. Byron Murphy is the veteran of the group, and he's just 25-years-old.

There's a lot of upside, but young players like Andrew Booth Jr., Akayleb Evans, and Mekhi Blackmon will have plenty of growing pains as they acclimate to Flores' scheme and the NFL game in general.

Minnesota could use another veteran in this group, and Coleman could come in and be a coach on the field, helping with technique and getting the young bucks to recognize and anticipate what the offense is going to do in certain situations.

He would be a longshot to make the team but could provide some value if he's able to pass on what he's learned in his eight-year career.