Fans of former Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards have the opportunity to see him compete again tonight – this time in a boxing ring.
Edwards, who played for the Vikings from 2006-11, is returning to Minnesota with a 10-0-1 boxing record on the line. According to Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune, Edwards is at the top of the fight card for the match that will take place at the Cabooze in Minneapolis. Walsh wrote:
The 6-foot-5 Edwards' opponent in the bout scheduled for four rounds is Steve Tyner, a 32-year-old from Akron, Ohio. The 5-foot-11 lefty's record is 3-14-3.
*This bout is part of the Combat Sport Series, which includes professional boxing and kickboxing. *
During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Edwards totaled 16.5 sacks. He helped the 2009 Vikings reach the NFC Championship game.
Adrian Peterson named ESPN's non-QB MVP
With just two weeks remaining until the NFL regular season kicks off, there's plenty of speculation as to which players on each team will steal the show in 2016.
In a collaborative piece, ESPN beat reporters nominated a **“non-quarterback MVP” from their respective team**. Ben Goessling selected running back Adrian Peterson as the Vikings 2016 MVP. Goessling wrote:
There are a number of defensive players, such as Everson Griffen and Harrison Smith, who are contending for this title. But at the moment, it's still Peterson. No player in the NFL accounted for a greater percentage of his team's yardage than the league's leading rusher a year ago, and at age 31, Peterson still figures to be a central piece of the Vikings' offense.
Of note are the players opined as MVPs for Minnesota's NFC North rival teams. Alshon Jeffery was pegged for the Bears, and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah for the Lions. Packers beat reporter Rob Demovsky predicted wide receiver Jordy Nelson as Green Bay's non-quarterback MVP for the upcoming season after being sidelined all of 2015.
The Pro Bowl receiver's value was never more evident than in 2015, when he missed the entire season because of a knee injury and the Packers' offense plummeted to 23rd in the NFL and tied for 25th in passing yards. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers needs the big-play threat that Nelson provides in order to make the rest of the offense work.
NFL.com's Dave Dameshek predicts 11-5 for Vikings in 2016
In a Thursday segment of the Dave Dameshek Football Program, Dameshek **laid out his predictions for the NFC North in 2016**. He opined that the Packers will take the division with a 12-4 record, one game better than the Vikings predicted 11-5. Dameshek said the Bears and Lions will each finish 6-10.
"I think the top end of this division is very, very strong," Dameshek said.
He continued: "[The Vikings] are structured specifically to take out the Packers. They did it last year, they have these big, physical corners, they have a rugged defense, they're built to run the ball on offense."
