The 2014 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 54th in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Mike Zimmer. It was the first of two seasons in which the Vikings played at the outdoor TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Construction of U.S. Bank Stadium began on the site of the team's former home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, with a target of opening for the 2016 season. The opening day roster did not feature Kevin Williams for the first time since 2002, and Jared Allen for the first time since 2007; they both left in free agency.
Though the Vikings were eliminated from postseason contention after a loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, they improved on 2013's 5–10–1 record, which saw them go through a quarterback carousel and one of the worst defenses in the league that year, and arguably in Vikings' history.
Offseason
2014 draft
Pro Bowler
2014 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Contract Notes Round Overall 1 8 Traded to the Cleveland Browns 9 Anthony Barr Linebacker UCLA 4 years, $12.74 million from Bills via Browns 32 Teddy Bridgewater Quarterback Louisville 4 years, $7.59 million from Seahawks 2 40 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks 3 72 Scott Crichton Defensive end Oregon State 4 years, $3 million 96 Jerick McKinnon Running back Georgia Southern 4 years, $2.75 million from Seahawks 4 108 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks 5 145 David Yankey Guard Stanford 4 years, $2.43 million from Browns 148 Traded to the Carolina Panthers 168 Traded to the Atlanta Falcons from Panthers 6 182 Antone Exum Cornerback Virginia Tech 4 years, $2.34 million from Falcons 184 Kendall James Cornerback Maine 4 years, $2.33 million 7 220 Shamar Stephen Defensive tackle UConn 4 years, $2.29 million from Falcons 223 Brandon Watts Linebacker Georgia Tech 4 years, $2.28 million 225 Jabari Price Cornerback North Carolina 4 years, $2.28 million from Giants via Panthers Draft trades
Roster changes
+ Re-signings Date Player name Position Contract terms December 30, 2013 Adam Thielen WR 2 years / $930,000 March 7, 2014 Marcus Sherels CB 2 years / $2.2 million March 11, 2014 Matt Cassel QB 2 years / $10 million Everson Griffen DE 5 years / $42.5 million March 12, 2014 Joe Berger G 1 year / $985,000 March 14, 2014 Jerome Simpson WR 1 year / $1 million March 15, 2014 Charlie Johnson G 2 years / $5 million April 7, 2014 Matt Asiata RB 1 year / $570,000 August 31, 2014 Joe Banyard RB Kain Colter WR Isame Faciane DT Chase Ford TE Zac Kerin C Justin Trattou DE September 2, 2014 Austin Wentworth OT September 16, 2014 Zach Line FB October 7, 2014 Donte Foster WR Chandler Harnish QB November 12, 2014 Ryan Otten TE November 18, 2014 Dominique Williams RB Denotes this is a reserve/future contract. Denotes a signing to the Practice Squad.
+ Departures Date Player name Position Note New team February 7, 2014 Erin Henderson MLB Released March 5, 2014 John Carlson TE Released Arizona Cardinals March 6, 2014 Greg Childs WR Released Toronto Argonauts (CFL) Letroy Guion DE Green Bay Packers March 11, 2014 Desmond Bishop LB UFA Arizona Cardinals Marvin Mitchell LB March 12, 2014 Toby Gerhart RB Jacksonville Jaguars March 14, 2014 Chris Cook CB San Francisco 49ers March 21, 2014 Joe Webb QB/WR Carolina Panthers March 26, 2014 Jared Allen DE Chicago Bears April 16, 2014 Josh Freeman QB New York Giants June 16, 2014 Kevin Williams DT Seattle Seahawks August 25, 2014 Robert Steeples CB Released Kansas City Chiefs August 30, 2014 Jeff Baca G Released Cincinnati Bengals Chase Baker DT September 8, 2014 Jamarca Sanford FS Injury settlement Washington Redskins September 18, 2014 Jerome Simpson WR Released San Francisco 49ers (2015) October 2, 2014 Rodney Smith WR Released Cleveland Browns
+ Additions Date Player name Position Previous team Contract terms January 3, 2014 Josh Samuda G Miami Dolphins (2012) 1 year / $495,000 March 12, 2014 Jasper Brinkley MLB Arizona Cardinals 1 year / $830,000 Linval Joseph DT New York Giants 5 years / $31.5 million March 13, 2014 Captain Munnerlyn CB Carolina Panthers 3 years / $14.25 million March 20, 2014 Tom Johnson DT New Orleans Saints 1 year / $845,000 March 21, 2014 Corey Wootton DE Chicago Bears 1 year / $1.5 million March 27, 2014 Vladimir Ducasse G New York Jets 1 year / $795,000 April 8, 2014 Lestar Jean WR Houston Texans 1 year / $635,000 May 13, 2014 Antonio Richardson OT Tennessee Undrafted FA May 19, 2014 Dom DeCicco LB Chicago Bears August 31, 2014 Mike Harris OT San Diego Chargers September 9, 2014 Josh Kaddu LB Philadelphia Eagles September 20, 2014 Charles Johnson WR Cleveland Browns November 3, 2014 Pat Devlin QB Miami Dolphins December 6, 2014 Ahmad Dixon S Miami Dolphins December 10, 2014 Carter Bykowski OT San Francisco 49ers December 17, 2014 Jordan McCray G Green Bay Packers December 24, 2014 Justin Anderson LB New York Giants Henry Josey RB Jacksonville Jaguars
+ Signed and released players Date signed Player name Position Previous team Contract terms Date released December 30, 2013 Brandon Bishop S Minnesota Vikings (re-signed) 2 years / $930,000 August 25, 2014 Kip Edwards CB June 2, 2014 Kevin Murphy OT August 25, 2014 Spencer Nealy DE July 23, 2014 Bradley Randle RB May 13, 2014 January 3, 2014 Kamar Jorden WR Calgary Stampeders (CFL) 2 years / $930,000 August 25, 2014 January 22, 2014 Kheeston Randall DT Cincinnati Bengals 2 years / $1.08 million February 11, 2014 Simoni Lawrence LB Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) 3 years / $1.54 million May 13, 2014 March 10, 2014 Larry Dean LB Minnesota Vikings (re-signed) 2 years / $2 million August 31, 2014 March 13, 2014 Fred Evans DT 1 year / $1 million August 30, 2014 March 14, 2014 Derek Cox CB San Diego Chargers 1 year / $780,000 August 25, 2014 April 15, 2014 Terrell Manning OLB 1 year / $570,000 May 13, 2014 Allen Reisner TE Jacksonville Jaguars 1 year / $645,000 August 30, 2014 April 17, 2014 Kurt Coleman FS Philadelphia Eagles 1 year / $900,000 May 13, 2014 Conor Boffeli G Iowa Undrafted free agents May 19, 2014 Pierce Burton OT Ole Miss August 25, 2014 Kain Colter WR Northwestern August 30, 2014 Rakim Cox DE Villanova August 4, 2014 Isame Faciane DT FIU August 30, 2014 Donte Foster WR Ohio Matt Hall OT Belhaven July 25, 2014 Zac Kerin C Toledo August 30, 2014 A.C. Leonard TE Tennessee State August 6, 2014 Erik Lora WR Eastern Illinois August 25, 2014 Travis Partridge QB Missouri Western May 19, 2014 Tyler Scott DE Northwestern August 25, 2014 Jake Snyder DE Virginia Dominique Williams RB Wagner August 30, 2014 May 16, 2014 Austin Wentworth OT Fresno State August 31, 2014 May 19, 2014 Mike Zimmer LB Jacksonville Jaguars August 30, 2014 June 2, 2014 Julian Posey CB Cleveland Browns June 13, 2014 Josh Cooper WR Cleveland Browns July 25, 2014 July 23, 2014 Michael Higgins TE New Orleans Saints August 26, 2014 July 25, 2014 Andy Cruse WR Houston Texans August 25, 2014 Ty Walker WR Seattle Seahawks August 4, 2014 Chris Crocker SS Cincinnati Bengals August 30, 2014 August 10, 2014 Kory Sperry TE Arizona Cardinals August 25, 2014 August 18, 2014 Justin Jackson LB Detroit Lions August 30, 2014 August 31, 2014 Donte Foster WR Minnesota Vikings September 29, 2014 Kendall James CB September 2, 2014 Mike Remmers OT September 3, 2014 MarQueis Gray TE Cleveland Browns November 19, 2014 September 1, 2014 Chris Greenwood CB Detroit Lions December 17, 2014 September 3, 2014 Ahmad Dixon SS Dallas Cowboys September 8, 2014 September 24, 2014 McLeod Bethel-Thompson QB New England Patriots October 7, 2014 Ryan Otten TE Cincinnati Bengals November 3, 2014 September 29, 2014 Chandler Harnish QB Indianapolis Colts October 3, 2014 October 7, 2014 Pierre Warren S New Orleans Saints November 18, 2014 November 3, 2014 RaShaun Allen TE Seattle Seahawks November 11, 2014 November 19, 2014 Ben Tate RB Cleveland Browns December 23, 2014 November 25, 2014 J'Marcus Webb OT Minnesota Vikings December 16, 2014
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 August 8 Oakland Raiders W 10–6 1–0 TCF Bank Stadium 51,752 Recap 2 August 16 Arizona Cardinals W 30–28 2–0 TCF Bank Stadium 51,763 Recap 3 August 23 at Kansas City Chiefs W 30–12 3–0 Arrowhead Stadium 73,442 Recap 4 August 28 at Tennessee Titans W 19–3 4–0 LP Field 69,143 Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders
Coming off a season in which the Vikings let almost every team score at least 20 points on them (including the preseason), the Vikings showcased a defense that held the Raiders to a single digit score and kept them scoreless until the last 90 seconds of the 4th quarter, when they eventually scored a touchdown. This was the first time the Vikings' defense held any team to a single digit score since week 16 of the 2012 season. Rookie Anthony Barr recorded half a sack, and Kurt Coleman intercepted Raiders quarterback Derek Carr once.
On the offense, Matt Cassel started and shined on his sole drive, leading the team down the field, where Matt Asiata scored the Vikings' only touchdown of the game from a yard out. After Cassel's drive, rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater entered the game and played a few drives, completing 6 of 13 pass attempts for 49 yards, getting sacked twice, and fumbling once (fellow Viking Matt Kalil recovered the fumble). The Vikings got a field goal on the second drive. Shortly after the half, the signal calling was turned to Christian Ponder, who managed a pair of first-down passes of 17 and 15 yards early on, but produced little thereafter.
Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Vikings faced a Cardinals team that shut the Texans out 32–0 in week 1. The Cardinals strained the Vikings' defense, but the offense, headed by Matt Cassel in the first half, was able to keep pace with their scoring to see the Vikings trailing 14–13 at halftime. The Vikings switched to Teddy Bridgewater after the half, and the rookie quarterback orchestrated a pair of drives that put the Vikings back in the lead 24–21. A few drives later, the Vikings' defense would end up being penalized three straight times, allowing the Cardinals to score a touchdown through a botched snap that was recovered by the Cardinals and run into the end zone. The Vikings were given the ball with around a minute to score. Bridgewater led the Vikings down field in comeback fashion to score the game-winner with a pass to Rodney Smith, sealing another preseason victory for the Vikings.
Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
The Vikings traveled to Kansas City to play against Matt Cassel's former team. The defense played remarkably well, with Captain Munnerlyn, Chad Greenway and Shaun Prater each recording an interception. The Vikings' defense managed to hold the Chiefs to five points for a majority of the game until they got a touchdown in the final minute for a total of 12. For the third game running, Cassel was the starting quarterback and he played the majority of this game; he gained 152 passing yards with a touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson, and threw a pick, the Vikings' only turnover of their preseason. Bridgewater also saw a little action; though he made few pass attempts, he gained 40 passing yards and made two touchdown passes to Allen Reisner.
Week 4: at Tennessee Titans
The Vikings traveled to Tennessee to face the Titans in the preseason finale. The Vikings' defense excelled in keeping the Titans to a minimal score, and recorded a strip sack by Corey Wootton and an interception by Julian Posey. Teddy Bridgewater was the starter for this game, and led the Vikings to score 10 points in their first two drives. Christian Ponder then took over for the rest of the game, leading three more scoring drives, though he and the offense were unable to score any touchdowns.
Regular season
Schedule