Meet the new Vikings secondary

Jeff Gladney and Mike Hughes, both recent first-round draft picks, are out. Second-year cornerback Cameron Dantzler is now coming off the bench after starting 10 games last year. Here are the veterans the Vikings brought in to shore up the secondary:

Patrick Peterson: He signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Vikings after making eight Pro Bowls in his first 10 seasons with Arizona. Peterson came to Minnesota in part because of Mike Zimmer's success working with older cornerbacks, and he's hoping for a bounce-back season with the Vikings in Year 11.

Bashaud Breeland: He was limited in the preseason while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but the Vikings are confident Breeland can be the starter after joining them on a one-year deal this spring. He had one of his better seasons in coverage for the Chiefs last season, playing 690 regular-season snaps for a team that reached its second straight Super Bowl.

Xavier Woods: The Vikings brought him in on a one-year deal this offseason to replace Anthony Harris, who signed with the Eagles, and they'll be counting on Woods to tighten things up in the secondary after he struggled at times last season in Dallas. Woods has been durable, playing more than 950 snaps each of the past three years.

Mackensie Alexander: He was eager to find a new team in 2020 after playing in a meaningless Week 17 finale with the Vikings in 2019 led to knee surgery that caused him to miss the playoffs. But Alexander is back after one season with the Bengals, and the Vikings have (again) talked about how much he's matured from his early days with the team. He'll likely be the team's primary nickel corner, where he could get to blitz again from disguised looks as he did in 2019.