Terence Newman is a 37-year-old cornerback who has played in 190 NFL games, making him the Vikings’ most experienced player. Moritz Bohringer is a 22-year-old wide receiver who was drafted this year having played only in a German football league, making him the Vikings’ least experienced player.
So Newman has decided to take Bohringer under his wing, keeping him after practice to give him extra tutoring on how to beat an NFL defensive back, which Bohringer is finding slightly more difficult than beating a German Football League defensive back.
“We’re just working,” Newman told the Star-Tribune. “We’re just trying to get better. He’s a little behind the eight ball if you ask me just because he’s coming from a different level of the game. So I’m just trying to help him get better at what he wants to get better at. I told him early on in camp that I’d work with him a little bit, so I’m just trying to help him out.”
Bohringer hasn’t caught a pass yet in the Vikings’ two preseason games, but Newman sees the athletic potential in him.
“He’s tall. He’s got some athletic ability,” Newman said. “I’m going to be looking forward to seeing what he does once he gets on the field.”
Newman says helping younger players is one of the things Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wants him to do.
“That’s my job. That’s kind of what you try to do as a veteran player,” Newman said. “If you see something, you try to relay messages [from the coaches], you try to help people any way you can. We’re all here for the same reason. We compete against each other, but at the same time we all have the same overall goal, and that’s to win a championship.”
Bohringer isn’t ready to help the Vikings win a championship yet, but Newman is trying to get him there.
