EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings on Thursday announced eight season-long team captains for 2026, including three who are assuming the honor for the first time in Minnesota.
The following Vikings have been selected via team vote (listed by group in alphabetical order):
Offense: Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, Sr., Kyler Murray, Brian O'Neill
Defense: Blake Cashman, Joshua Metellus, Andrew Van Ginkel
Special Teams: Andrew DePaola
Cashman and Van Ginkel were selected by Vikings teammates for the first time as each begins their third season with Minnesota. Murray will serve as a Vikings team captain for the first time; he was a Cardinals team captain every season from 2020-25.
A photo of this year's group will be placed in the "Jim Marshall Vikings Captains Legacy" display, which was created in 2024 to honor the 14-time Vikings captain who played every game of the franchise's first two decades.
Below is more information on each of the 2026 captains:
Blake Cashman (Defense)
Cashman shined last season in Purple and racked up a career-high 144 tackles, which are tied for the fifth-most in a single season by a Viking, despite missing four games due to injury. He logged 10 straight games (Week 8-17) with at least nine tackles, becoming the fourth player since 1994 to accomplish the feat. Cashman was the first to do it since Jerod Mayo for the Patriots in 2010.
The Vikings signed Cashman in 2024 as a free agent. The Minnesota native was selected by the Jets in the 2019 NFL Draft (157th overall). He played for New York from 2019-21 and for the Texans in 2022 and 2023.
Cashman was elevated to captain status in Week 16 of the 2025 season.
View photos of Vikings LS Andrew DePaola during the 2025 season.
Andrew DePaola (Special Teams)
DePaola, a captain for the third consecutive full season, handled all long-snapping duties last season and played in his 150th career regular-season game in Week 15 at Dallas on Sunday Night Football.
Following the 2024 season, DePaola earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod — becoming the first long snapper in NFL history to do so. He has been selected as an All-Pro (First or Second Team) by The Associated Press in each of the past four seasons.
Justin Jefferson (Offense)
"Jets" started all 17 games in 2025, finishing with 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two touchdowns. In the Vikings finale against Green Bay, he recorded the 37th 100-yard receiving game of his career (eight catches for 101 yards).
Jefferson has earned four Associated Press All-Pro nods (First Team in 2022 and 2024; Second Team in 2020 and 2021) and received Pro Bowl honors four times (2020-22, 2024).
Through his first six NFL seasons and 94 career games, Jefferson ranks third in catches (579), third in receiving yards (8,480) and seventh in touchdown receptions (42) in Vikings history. He is just nine catches away from passing Randy Moss for second in franchise history.
Source: www.vikings.com — Read the original article
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