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?
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