Inside The Vikings

Vikings Announce Eight Captains For 2021 Season

It's a mix of young and old that includes newcomer Patrick Peterson and plenty of key core players.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Announce Eight Captains For 2021 Season
Vikings Announce Eight Captains For 2021 Season

The Vikings announced their group of eight captains for the 2021 season on Friday.

Here they are, in alphabetical order by last name, with ages in parentheses:

  • LB Anthony Barr (29)
  • RB Dalvin Cook (26)
  • QB Kirk Cousins (33)
  • FB C.J. Ham (28)
  • RT Brian O'Neill (26)
  • CB Patrick Peterson (31)
  • S Harrison Smith (32)
  • WR Adam Thielen (31)

The eight captains are a jump from the team's usual six. Cousins, Cook, Barr, and Smith were all captains a year ago, as were the now-departed Kyle Rudolph and Riley Reiff. Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen were captains in 2018 and 2019 and were replaced by Cook and Smith the following offseason. Cousins and Barr are in their fourth consecutive seasons with that honor, meaning they're one year away from getting gold star captain patches on their jerseys.

Thielen, Ham, O'Neill, and Peterson are the new captains for this season.

It's a cool honor for O'Neill, who takes over for Reiff as the offensive line representative. He just inked a big extension that will keep him with the Vikings for many years to come.

It also says a lot about Peterson that he was named a captain before even playing his first game with the team, similar to Cousins in 2018. The longtime Cardinal and potential future Hall of Famer has instantly become one of the most well-respected leaders in the locker room.

Native Minnesotans Ham and Thielen being named first-time captains is pretty cool as well. Why not have eight?

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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