Vikings to face 49ers in preseason opener
It won't take long for the Minnesota Vikings to get another look at former star receiver Randy Moss.
The NFL's 2012 preseason schedule was announced on Wednesday, and Minnesota will open on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, which signed Moss this offseason. The Vikings will also face the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans in the four preseason games. San Francisco and Houston will also be part of the regular-season schedule, to be announced later this month.
All preseason games will be televised, but the dates and channels are still to be determined.
Minnesota will host the Bills and Chargers in back-to-back weeks at Mall of America Field following the opening game against San Francisco. The preseason ends with a Week 4 game at Houston, last year's AFC South champion.
Moss came out of retirement to sign with the 49ers last month. The Vikings' second all-time leading receiver with 587 catches, 9,316 receiving yards and 93 touchdowns returns after sitting out the entire 2011 season.
San Francisco took a chance on the enigmatic receiver, as part of a receiving upgrade for embattled quarterback Alex Smith. The 49ers signed Moss, 35, and Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham this offseason to go along with Michael Crabtree and Ted Ginn, whom they re-signed after he reportedly drew interest from the Vikings.
The Vikings' 2012 opponents were determined earlier. Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 49ers. Road games for Minnesota will include games at Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago, as well as the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and Texans.
Follow Brian Hall on Twitter.