Five Former Vikings Set to Play in Sunday's Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl

Jerick McKinnon is hoping to get his first Super Bowl ring as a key contributor for Kansas City.

The Vikings won't be playing in LVII on Sunday, but several players who used to don the purple and gold will be. The NFC champion Eagles have three former Vikings on their active roster, while the AFC champion Chiefs have two.

Here's a look at the former Vikings on both squads.

Kansas City Chiefs

RB Jerick McKinnon

McKinnon, who was drafted by the Vikings in 2014 and spent the first four years of his career in Minnesota, is looking for his first ring. He's gotten close several times. McKinnon's final game with the Vikings was the blowout loss against the Eagles in the 2017 NFC championship game, in which he had 126 yards on 21 touches. He was on the 49ers' injured reserve when they lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. McKinnon then joined the Chiefs and was a standout in last year's playoffs, averaging over 100 yards per game, but Kansas City came up just short against the Bengals in the AFC title game.

Now he's one game away from his first championship. McKinnon hasn't been as productive in these playoffs due to the emergence of rookie RB Isiah Pacheco, with just 43 yards on 19 touches through two games. Still, he had a big regular season (803 total yards and ten touchdowns, nine of them receiving) and should play at least 25-30 snaps in this game.

TE Blake Bell

Bell is another member of the Vikings' 2017 team that was one game away from a home Super Bowl appearance. He had one catch on 28 snaps in the Chiefs' last Super Bowl victory, but was inactive for this year's AFC title game. We'll see if he plays on Sunday.

The Chiefs also have WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette on their practice squad. He was elevated for the AFC championship game but ended up being inactive.

Philadelphia Eagles

DT Linval Joseph

Joseph, who spent six years with the Vikings and made two Pro Bowls, was signed by Philadelphia in November. He played exactly ten snaps in each of the Eagles' first two playoff victories and figures to end up in that range again in this game. Joseph, who won Super Bowl XLVI with the Giants in his second season, is looking for another ring.

S Marcus Epps

Epps was very briefly a Viking, getting waived in November of his rookie year after being drafted in the sixth round in 2019. He was scooped up by the Eagles and has turned into a starting safety for them. Epps started five games in 2020, three in 2021, and every single game this season. He'll almost certainly lead this list of former Vikings in snaps on Sunday.

LB Christian Elliss

You probably don't remember Elliss unless you're an insane diehard. He was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and was released during roster cuts. He bounced around practice squads for a bit, getting signed to the Eagles' active roster in December. Elliss played a total of nine defensive snaps in the first two playoff games and is also a key special teams contributor.

The Eagles also have S Anthony Harris on their practice squad and DE Janarius Robinson on their injured reserve.

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