Let the rumors begin!

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that the Minnesota Vikings are showing interest in Miami Dolphins' defensive back Nolan Carroll to help them in the secondary. He was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of the University of Maryland, and has played his entire four-year career with Miami.

This past season in Miami, Carroll started twelve of sixteen games, collecting three interceptions and eleven defended passes. He has five interceptions in his career. He has also been a pretty good special teamer for the Dolphins, which is where he may have had his most famous (or infamous) moment.

Yes, that's Carroll, then a rookie, being intentionally tripped by New York Jets' strength coach Sal Alosi during a punt. That move eventually wound up getting Alosi fired.

Carroll seems to be the kind of free agent that Rick Spielman would be interested in. He's a younger player, he appears to be on the rise, and he (presumably) wouldn't cost a whole lot of money. He wasn't a name that was on my radar to start with, but the more I've seen about him, the less surprising it is that the Vikings might be interested in his services.