Irv Smith Jr. and 11 ex-Vikings playing in the Divisional Round this weekend

While the Minnesota Vikings saw their 2024 season come to an end this past Monday, there are still several former members of their roster who will be competing in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs this weekend.

Of the eight teams that will be battling it out in the AFC and NFC, the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, and Detroit Lions will all take the field for their matchups with at least one former Vikings player on their roster.

Some of these former Minnesota players are household names while others had stints with the franchise that weren’t very memorable. After this weekend, some of these ex-Vikings will be even closer to winning a Super Bowl ring this season.

12 former Minnesota Vikings competing in the Divisional Round of the 2024 NFL playoffs

Saturday

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs – 3:30 p.m. CST

Former Vikings

Kris Boyd – DB (Texans)
Danielle Hunter – Edge (Texans)
Irv Smith Jr. – TE (Texans)

Danielle Hunter is the most notable former Minnesota player taking part in this matchup. In his first NFL season away from the Vikings, Hunter has continued to be a dominant pass rusher for Houston.

During the Texans’ first-round playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers last week, the former Minnesota defender generated five pressures and three tackles. Houston will need Hunter to have a similar performance, if not something even better, in order to upset the heavily favored Chiefs on Saturday.

Washington Commanders at Detoit Lions – 7:00 p.m. CST

Former Vikings

Sheldon Day – DL (Commanders)
Jalyn Holmes – DL (Commanders)
K.J. Osborn – WR (Commanders)

Teddy Bridgewater – QB (Lions)
Za’Darius Smith – OLB (Lions)
Jonah Williams – DL (Lions)
Shane Zylstra – TE (Lions)

This is the playoff contest from the Divisional Round that will feature the most former Vikings players.

Jalyn Holmes, K.J. Osborn, and Teddy Bridgewater are all former Minnesota draft picks while guys like Za’Darius Smith and Sheldon Day played notable roles on some of the recent teams put out on the field by the Vikings during the Kevin O’Connell era.

Sunday

Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles – 2:00 p.m. CST

Former Vikings

Lewis Cine – S (Eagles)

After spending the majority of the 2024 season on the Buffalo Bills practice squad, former Minnesota first-round pick Lewis Cine signed with Philadelphia shortly before the team’s first-round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers last week.

Cine was a healthy scratch for the matchup against the Packers, but it’s unknown if the Eagles will have him suit up to take on the Rams on Sunday or not.

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills – 5:30 p.m. CST

Former Vikings

Michael Pierce – DT (Ravens)

During the 2020 offseason, Michael Pierce was viewed as one of the Vikings’ top new additions after they signed him to a multi-year contract in free agency.

But Pierce’s tenure with Minnesota fell well short of his initial expectations, as he sat out the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then injuries limited him to just eight games for Minnesota in the 2021 campaign.

After that season, he re-joined the Ravens, which is the team he played for before signing with the Vikings in 2020, and now he’s attempting to help Baltimore reach its first Super Bowl since 2012.

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