Doug Sutherland, a longtime defensive tackle who was named one of the "50 Greatest Vikings" by the team in 2010, died Tuesday at age 73, the Vikings announced.
Sutherland spent his first season in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. As a rookie, he appeared in 10 games, and he was expected to be a regular for the Saints in 1971.
But in August of 1971, the Saints traded Sutherland to the Minnesota Vikings, where he was going to have to work just make the Vikings' regular-season roster.
Sutherland told the Minneapolis Tribune after the trade, "Down there I had a pretty good chance to play quite a bit.