When the orange and blue confetti fluttered down on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos at the end of Super Sunday, the NFL offseason officially was underway, though it unofficially started for the Vikings after their crushing playoff loss.
The Vikings had hoped to be there in Santa Clara, Calif., playing in Super Bowl 50. But instead General Manager Rick Spielman, coach Mike Zimmer and the rest of the organization’s brain trust got a head start of the offseason, making staff changes and forming preliminary plans for free agency and the draft.