The NFL is already in the run-up to Super Bowl LI in Houston on February 5th.
While the Pro Bowl is just a few days away, already the attention has shifted to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, Tom Brady and Matt Ryan, Bill Belichick and Dan Quinn.
For everyone else, they are focused on how to try and get to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis next February. Soon it will be wall-to-wall coverage of free agency, the Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft.
So ESPN took a look to see how close each team is to the Super Bowl. They classified the Vikings as Should Contend, but there are question marks. Here is what they had to say:
“The Vikings have to make a decision on the future of their running game, with Adrian Peterson turning 32 in March and likely only returning on a restructured contract. Coach Mike Zimmer, who earned a contract extension after leading the Vikings to a division title in 2015, will have to re-establish himself somewhat after Minnesota lost eight of its final 11 games following a 5-0 start.”
ESPN gave the same designation to Arizona, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Seattle, Oakland and Tennessee.
Don’t forget it was just last year that Atlanta got out to a 5-0 start, only to miss the playoffs. Now they’re in the Super Bowl.
Big questions facing Vikings
Peterson’s return is far from guaranteed, last week the franchise’s all-time leading rusher even said he thinks he’d be a fit in Houston, New York or Tampa Bay.
But he’s not the only question mark. As big of a concern for the Vikings is how to fix their beleaguered offensive line.
Also, even though Sam Bradford has been named the starting quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater’s future is another big unknown heading into 2017.
