As the Antonio Brown saga continues to play out in full soap-opera form for everyone to see — his latest incident being a explosive exchange with Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock that, according to ESPN, could lead to a suspension — the Vikings have to feel fortunate that they haven’t had to deal with that type of drama in quite some time.

Though it might not be a coincidence.

While no Vikings player or coach would comment Thursday on the specific incidents going on in the Bay Area, they did talk openly about the specific culture that has been put in place under coach Mike Zimmer, and hinted at how that ensures the drama stays at a minimum.

“We talk about the kind of guys we want to bring in here,” Zimmer said. ” I don’t know what’s going on out there. I just know that our guys come in, and practice hard, and do the right things.

“We make them accountable,” he added. “They have to stay in line. If they don’t, they probably won’t be here very long.”

That clearly holds a lot of weight with the players.

It’s not a coincidence, tight end Kyle Rudolph said, that guys opt to re-sign in the Twin Cities, often leaving money on the table to stay put.

“I mentioned when I re-signed here that part of the reason I wanted to stay here was because of the culture,” he said. “Just looking at our locker room, whether it’s guys we draft and develop, or guys we bring in through free agency, there’s a certain type of player that they look for.”

After that, it falls on the shoulders of the players to police each other, handling problems internally so they don’t become a bigger issue.

“If the players aren’t policing it, then the team won’t have a good locker room,” Rudolph said. “Coach Zimmer leads by example. He sets the standard for us, and he lets us know as leaders what he expects out of this team, and from there it’s on us as players to hold each other accountable.”

Sometimes that can be easier said than done. Especially when dealing with a superstar player.

“It’s not easy,” Rudolph said. “As a leader of a football team, that’s something we have to do. And the best teams are the teams whose superstars are the ones policing one another.”