Antoine Winfield Sr. started his career with the Bills, but the cornerback didn’t make the Pro Bowl until he came to the Vikings.
He ended up making three with Minnesota and ending his career with the team in 2012. He talked to ESPN about how he improved with Minnesota.
“I honed in and started taking the game seriously,” he said. “Every coach I had there in Minnesota, they preached turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. So I had to study. I told [Winfield Jr.] at a very early age that that’s how you make a name for yourself. That’s how you separate the good players and great players. Guys who create turnovers. It’s all about the ball.”
Now, his son, Antoine Winfield Jr., is one of the better safety prospects in this year’s draft class. Winfield Jr. might be a good fit for the Vikings if safety Anthony Harris isn’t with the team for the long haul.
According to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, the Vikings have been in talks with Harris about a longterm deal, after the team franchise tagged him this offseason. However, the Vikings were also reportedly acknowledging to teams that he could be a tag-and-trade-candidate, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.