2012 Minnesota Vikings season

The  Minnesota Vikings season is the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League, as well as the second full season under head coach Leslie Frazier. They looked to improve upon their 3–13 season the year before, and did so after defeating the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, and improved on their record from 2010 when they beat the Chicago Bears in Week 14; the team's win over the Houston Texans in Week 16 made this their first winning season since 2009. The Vikings also made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 with a Week 17 win over the Green Bay Packers to give them a 10–6 regular season record.

On May 10, 2012, the Minnesota State Legislature approved a new Vikings Stadium bill that would construct a new facility by 2016 and ensure the Vikings' presence in Minneapolis through the year 2046. The deal was signed by Governor Mark Dayton and approved by the Minneapolis City Council on May 25, 2012.

Pre-draft transactions
The first major transactions of the 2012 offseason were the releases of veteran guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera, and CB Cedric Griffen on March 10, as the Vikings began rebuilding their offensive line and secondary. Three days later, the team resigned perennial backup QB Sage Rosenfels and DT Letroy Guion off their unrestricted free agents list. This was followed up with the signing of the Seattle Seahawks' unrestricted free agent TE John Carlson on a five-year contract.

The next week, the team brought in FB Jerome Felton, also an unrestricted free agent, from the Indianapolis Colts. They then released DT Remi Ayodele on March 21, but resigned DT Fred Evans. March 26 was a big day for signings by the Vikings, with the resignings of WR Devin Aromashodu and LB Erin Henderson, as well as the free agent acquisitions of CB Zack Bowman from the Chicago Bears and T Geoff Schwartz from the Carolina Panthers.

April saw very few transactions go through in anticipation of the 2012 NFL Draft at the end of the month. Nevertheless, the Vikings signed LB Marvin Mitchell and WR Jerome Simpson, despite the fact that Simpson would miss the first three games of the season for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.

2012 draft
Notes:
 * undefined In exchange for the Cleveland Browns receiving the Vikings' original first-round selection (#3 overall), the Vikings received the Browns' first- (#4 overall), fourth- (#118 overall), fifth- (#139 overall) and seventh-round (#211 overall) selections.
 * undefined The Vikings traded their original second- (#35 overall) and fourth-round (#98 overall) selections in exchange for the Baltimore Ravens' first-round (#29 overall) selection.
 * undefined Compensatory selection.
 * undefined The team acquired a new sixth-round selection (#175 overall) in a trade that sent defensive end Jayme Mitchell to the Cleveland Browns.
 * undefined In exchange for the Detroit Lions' seventh-round selection (#223 overall) and a fifth-round pick in 2013, the Vikings traded their original fifth-round selection (#138 overall) and a seventh-round selection (#223 overall) they received from the New England Patriots in the trade for Randy Moss in 2010.

Post-draft transactions
With the 2012 Draft over, the Vikings resumed their transactions in May, signing a number of undrafted free agents to their roster, and releasing RB Caleb King, following a short jail term. With the drafting of K Blair Walsh, veteran kicker Ryan Longwell found himself surplus to requirements for the Vikings and he was released on May 7. By the start of June, all of the Vikings draft selections (with the exception of T Matt Kalil) had been signed to long-term contracts.

Schedule
The Vikings' preseason schedule was announced on April 4, 2012.

Schedule
LEGEND:
 * Team names in bold indicate Vikings' home games.
 * undefined Simulcast locally on KARE.

Pro Bowl
Four Minnesota Vikings players were selected for the 2013 Pro Bowl: two on offense (running back partners Adrian Peterson and Jerome Felton), one on defense (Jared Allen) and one special teamer (Blair Walsh). Of these, Peterson, Felton and Walsh would start the game, with Allen going as a reserve. However, if the Vikings reach Super Bowl XLVII, their players will miss the Pro Bowl.