The 2021 season was the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' 61st in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), their sixth playing home games at

U.S. Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Footbal ...

and their eighth and final under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Mike Zimmer Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sanders. He previously also served as the head coach of the Minn ...

. They were eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season following a Week 17 loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. The day after the team's last game of the season, the Vikings fired Zimmer and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Rick Spielman Richard Spielman (born December 2, 1962) is an American football executive who was most recently the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 2012 to 2022. He was promoted to general manager in 2012 af ...

Draft

The Vikings entered the 2021 NFL draft with no second-round pick, having traded it to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

in exchange for DE

Yannick Ngakoue Yannick Nicolas Ngakoue ( ; born March 31, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the th ...

during the 2020 season; however, they picked up an extra third-round selection when they traded Ngakoue to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

a few weeks later. They also received an additional fifth-round selection from the Ravens as part of a multi-pick trade during the 2020 draft, as well as additional fourth-round selections from the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

(as part of a multi-pick trade) and the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

(as part of the trade that sent

Stefon Diggs Stefon Marsean Diggs (born November 29, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round ...

to the Bills ahead of the 2020 season). The Vikings were also awarded two compensatory selections at the NFL's annual spring owners' meetings; they received one additional pick in the fourth round and one in the sixth round, compensating for the losses of

Mackensie Alexander Mackensie Alexander (born November 12, 1993) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson, where after redshirting his freshman season, became a key role player on the Tigers' defense his second ...

Jayron Kearse Jayron Kearse (born February 11, 1994) is an American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson and was draft ...

Andrew Sendejo Andrew Victor Sendejo (born September 9, 1987) is an American football free safety who is a free agent. He played college football for the Rice Owls, and was signed by the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League (UFL) as a fre ...

Trae Waynes Trae Waynes (born July 25, 1992) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Michigan State. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, 11th overall of the 2015 NFL Draft. He also spent time with th ...

and

Stephen Weatherly Stephen Dian Weatherly (born March 19, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Vanderbilt. Having nearly completed his degree, Weatherly declared ...

. On March 19, 2021, the Vikings were forced to forfeit a seventh-round selection due to a salary cap violation relating to a practice squad player during the 2019 season. On the first day of the draft, the Vikings traded their first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in exchange for the first-round pick the Jets had received from the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

(23rd overall) and two additional third-round picks. With their new first-round pick, the Vikings selected offensive tackle

Christian Darrisaw Christian Darrisaw (born June 2, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of th ...

, the first player at the position to be taken in the first round by the Vikings since

Matt Kalil Matthew Francis Kalil (born July 6, 1989) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings fourth overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Carolina Pan ...

with the fourth overall pick in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. With no second-round pick, the Vikings' draft resumed in the third round with the picks they received from the Jets the previous day and the one they received from Baltimore in exchange for Yannick Ngakoue, in addition to their original third-round pick. With these, they picked quarterback

Kellen Mond Kellen Louis Mond (born June 22, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, where he was a four-year starter and became one of three SEC qu ...

, linebacker

Chazz Surratt Chazz Surratt (born February 16, 1997) is an American football middle linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina, where he began his career as a quarterback, and was draf ...

, guard

Wyatt Davis Wyatt Davis (born February 17, 1999) is an American football guard for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2021 ...

and defensive end Patrick Jones II. In the fourth round, the Vikings took running back

Kene Nwangwu Kene Nwangwu (born February 9, 1998) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa State. Professional career Nwangwu was drafted by the Minnesota Vikin ...

, cornerback Camryn Bynum and defensive end

Janarius Robinson Janarius Robinson (born May 4, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State. Professional career Minnesota Vikings Robinson was draf ...

, followed by wide receiver

Ihmir Smith-Marsette Ihmir Smith-Marsette (born August 29, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round o ...

and tight end/punter Zach Davidson in the fifth. The Vikings' final pick of the draft came in the sixth round, when they selected defensive tackle

Jaylen Twyman Jaylen Guy Twyman (born July 19, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round, 199th overall ...

with the 199th overall pick. Draft trades

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Schedule

The Vikings' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on May 12. The exact dates and times were finalized on June 3.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs

Regular season

Schedule

In addition to their usual six games home and away against their NFC North rivals, the Vikings would also play games against each of the teams from the NFC West and the AFC North, as well as the two teams that, like the Vikings, finished in third place in their divisions in the NFC East and NFC South in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

: the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. Following an agreement between the league and the

National Football League Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...

to expand the regular season schedule to 17 games, the Vikings also played against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, one of the third-placed teams from the

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

(AFC) whom they were not originally scheduled to play in 2021. The Vikings'

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

schedule was announced on May 12. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals

This was head coach

's first return to Cincinnati since 2013, his last season with the Bengals before departing to become the Vikings head coach. Zimmer served as defensive coordinator for the Bengals under then-head coach

Marvin Lewis Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for 1 ...

from 2008 to 2013.

Week 2: at Arizona Cardinals

Week 3: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 4: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 5: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 6: at Carolina Panthers

Week 8: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 9: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 10: at Los Angeles Chargers

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 12: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 13: at Detroit Lions

Week 14: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 15: at Chicago Bears

Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 17: at Green Bay Packers

Week 18: vs. Chicago Bears

Standings

Division

Conference

Statistics

Team leaders

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

League rankings

Source: ProFootballReference.com

Pro Bowl

Three Vikings players were named to the

2022 Pro Bowl The 2022 Pro Bowl was the National Football League all-star game for the 2021 NFL season. It was played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 6, 2022. ESPN, ABC and Disney XD had the national television rights. Voting for the gam ...

when the rosters were announced on December 20, 2021. On offense, Dalvin Cook led the voting among NFC running backs to reach his third straight Pro Bowl, while WR Justin Jefferson made it two in a row; on defense, Harrison Smith received the most fan votes among NFC safeties to go to his sixth Pro Bowl. Those three were joined by T Brian O'Neill on January 26, 2022, after

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

tackle

Tristan Wirfs Tristan Wirfs (born January 24, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa. High school career Wirfs played high school football at Moun ...

was ruled out due to injury. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was added to the NFC roster on January 31 following the withdrawal of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers due to injury.

References

External links

* {{2021 NFL season by team

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Minnesota Vikings seasons