Surprise! Vikings for Sale

Unable to realign their unusual ownership structure from within, the Minnesota Vikings are pursuing an outside buyer they hope will keep the team in-state.

However, Wednesday’s revelation that the team secretly has been for sale for two months only heightened speculation that the Vikings’ 37-year run in Minnesota is in jeopardy.

“We have to explore all the possibilities,” said John Skoglund, one of the team’s 10 primary owners and chairman of its board of directors. “I think eventually we have to sell.”

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Viking running back Robert Smith will sit out Sunday’s game against New England and could be out even longer because of ligament damage in his right ankle. . . . Middle linebacker George Koonce, the Green Bay Packers’ leading tackler last season, practiced for the first time since tearing a knee ligament in the playoffs in January.