Kendricks' position in 2016 will depend on Vikings' offseason

INDIANAPOLIS — Which position will Eric Kendricks play in 2016? That is going to depend on which other linebackers wind up on the roster.

After the Vikings drafted Eric Kendricks in the second round last year, coach Mike Zimmer said that Kendricks would start his career at middle linebacker but that weak-side linebacker might be his best position.

The Vikings could still decide to move Kendricks over to the weak-side spot, especially if they aren’t able to get something done with veteran Chad Greenway. But Zimmer said yesterday that he might be hesitant to move Kendricks to another position after he played pretty well in the middle.

“I do think he’d be a good player at [the weak-side] position,” Zimmer said at the scouting combine. “I always have a little bit of a concern about moving a guy that played pretty well to another position, just because it may not turn out the way you want. Sometimes it does and it’s great.”

Four of the eight linebackers who finished the season on the active roster or injured reserve are set to become free agents. Greenway is the headliner. Audie Cole, Jason Trusnik and Casey Matthews are also free agents.

The Vikings will likely look to add a middle linebacker in free agency or the draft, though that player might end up only playing about 40 percent of the defensive snaps like Jasper Brinkley did during the 2014 season.

If the Vikings get one they really like, they could move Kendricks.

If not, they are comfortable with keeping him in the middle, where he led the team with 92 tackles as a rookie while also contributing four sacks.

“It will all depend on who we end up drafting, if we draft a guy, if we get a free agent, whatever, and how it all unfolds and if Chad comes back. All those things are all so up in the air,” Zimmer said. “But [the ability to play multiple positions is] what’s good about having a guy like Kendricks.”