Young LB Says 2023 Can Be ‘The Year’ for Vikings 1st Super Bowl
Dustin Baker
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Longtime Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks departed this offseason, joining the Los Angeles Chargers for two years and $13.25 million.
Kendricks will hope to rekindle a Pro Bowl career, and a new Vikings linebacker has already emerged in Kendricks’ stead — Brian Asamoah.
Young LB Says 2023 Can Be ‘The Year’ for Vikings 1st Super Bowl
And it didn’t take long for Asamoah to get bombastic about the 2023 Vikings; he claims Minnesota can contend for a Super Bowl this year.
Minnesota finally winning the chip isn’t incredibly far-fetched, but it doesn’t jibe with national forecasts for the team or Vegas sportsbooks. Oddsmakers have the Vikings labeled for 8.5 wins through early August, with +4,000 odds to hoist a Lombardi trophy. Vegas basically believes the Denver Broncos and the Vikings are the same team, per wins and Super Bowl forecast.
Yet, Asamoah isn’t buying it.
The second-year linebacker told CBS Sports this week, “Honestly, I think we have some of the best (talent) across the board. We have a lot of young guys that are ready to step into big roles and take advantage of the opportunities given to them. This is definitely a Super Bowl-contending team.”
Minnesota has the NFL’s third-best all-time regular season record in the Super Bowl era but no Super Bowl hardware to show for it.
“We’ve just gotta connect with one another and have good relationships so we can have unique results on the football field,” Asamoah added.
In June, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, Justin Jefferson, spoke similarly about Super Bowl aspirations, “I love being around the guys. I love being around the team. We want to win the Super Bowl this year.”
Newcomer outside linebacker Marcus Davenport was asked by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero two months ago about his 2023 goals. Davenport replied, “I only got one expectation. That’s the Super Bowl. And so, from there, it’s one of those things where we’ll just have to see. My point is Super Bowl, and then we’ll see.”
That’s at least three prominent Vikings sharing Super Bowl aspirations for 2023, a season some fans believed the team would use as fly-over country to reach the 2024 season. When the offseason arrived and quarterback Kirk Cousins wasn’t traded, a faction of Vikings fans surmised the team must be ‘mailing it in’ for 2023 in order to reach an unknown destination in 2024.
But that theory, via Vikings players’ words, has been rendered false.
The Vikings open up the preseason on Thursday night at the Seattle Seahawks.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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