1 hour ago
(This post was last modified: 1 hour ago by purplefaithful.)
If the Jan. 4 game is fullback C.J. Ham’s last as a Viking, he’s not going to miss the opportunity to absorb every moment.
What a fitting end it could be: a home game against the rival Green Bay Packers with more relatives and friends — about 30 — expected at U.S. Bank Stadium than the Duluth native typically hosts.
They will be there to see Ham’s 141st Vikings game, the second most in franchise history for a fullback behind only Bill Brown.
It’s also currently his last game under contract.
Weighing retirement, Ham said he has carried an even greater appreciation throughout a trying 10th Vikings season that has thrown him losses, injuries and the notion that any play could be his last. On Sunday, it really could be, should he decide to walk away this offseason.
“To sit back and think that this is potentially the last time I’m in purple,” Ham told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “It’s a crazy thought. It’s been a heck of a journey.”
Before kickoff, Ham will go through his pregame routine that includes seeing his wife, Stephanie, and their three children, Skylar, Stella and Cortez, on the sideline. From the locker room before every game, he texts Stephanie that he loves her.
Ham admitted this time, the buildup and the game will feel a little different.
“It will be special,” Ham said. “Just because of the unknown. I can’t even put it into words what it’ll mean, but it’ll be a special day having my family there, my friends there, all the people that supported me. Remembering all the people who were a part of that journey. No matter what, this is the last time this Vikings team will be together. That in and of itself makes this moment special.”
After making his first 53-man roster for the 2017 team that made the NFC title game, Ham recalled former coach Mike Zimmer telling the Vikings players that they no longer had to watch Ham and Barr “clash heads every single day.”
Ham and Barr came to their own understanding, too.
“A gentlemen’s agreement not to take each other’s heads off,” Ham said.
Years later, Ham has pushed through the first two surgeries of his career — repairing an ankle injury last offseason and a broken hand in October — to still pack a punch as a lead blocker and core special teamer.
“He does everything right,” said right tackle Brian O’Neill, a fellow team captain. “No job too small. Just a great example and role model for younger players of how to go about your business, how to take it seriously but not too seriously. How to carry yourself in a true professional manner.
And he’s still freaking good. The plays we’ve had out of 21 [two-back personnel] the last couple weeks have all hit.”
Even advanced analysis loves when coach Kevin O’Connell goes old school. The Vikings offense has the NFL’s third-best EPA (expected points added) per attempt when running from two-back personnel over the past seven games, according to Sports Info Solutions.
That’s a fancy way of saying Ham and his teammates are still hitting people really hard when he’s on the field.
If Ham wants to play an 11th Vikings season, coaches sound as if they would have him. Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips singled out Ham’s pass protection in his vital role on third downs.
“Over the years here, he’s been very valuable,” Phillips said. “We wouldn’t have gotten some of these balls off without him cleaning up” in pass protection.
“He’s really saved us up front in a lot of ways,” Phillips added.
STRIB
Between AJ Sr and Ham?
The Vikings have a couple of extraordinary locker room guys on this years roster.
Thats quite a RB room, that'll very likely get much younger in 26
What a fitting end it could be: a home game against the rival Green Bay Packers with more relatives and friends — about 30 — expected at U.S. Bank Stadium than the Duluth native typically hosts.
They will be there to see Ham’s 141st Vikings game, the second most in franchise history for a fullback behind only Bill Brown.
It’s also currently his last game under contract.
Weighing retirement, Ham said he has carried an even greater appreciation throughout a trying 10th Vikings season that has thrown him losses, injuries and the notion that any play could be his last. On Sunday, it really could be, should he decide to walk away this offseason.
“To sit back and think that this is potentially the last time I’m in purple,” Ham told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “It’s a crazy thought. It’s been a heck of a journey.”
Before kickoff, Ham will go through his pregame routine that includes seeing his wife, Stephanie, and their three children, Skylar, Stella and Cortez, on the sideline. From the locker room before every game, he texts Stephanie that he loves her.
Ham admitted this time, the buildup and the game will feel a little different.
“It will be special,” Ham said. “Just because of the unknown. I can’t even put it into words what it’ll mean, but it’ll be a special day having my family there, my friends there, all the people that supported me. Remembering all the people who were a part of that journey. No matter what, this is the last time this Vikings team will be together. That in and of itself makes this moment special.”
After making his first 53-man roster for the 2017 team that made the NFC title game, Ham recalled former coach Mike Zimmer telling the Vikings players that they no longer had to watch Ham and Barr “clash heads every single day.”
Ham and Barr came to their own understanding, too.
“A gentlemen’s agreement not to take each other’s heads off,” Ham said.
Years later, Ham has pushed through the first two surgeries of his career — repairing an ankle injury last offseason and a broken hand in October — to still pack a punch as a lead blocker and core special teamer.
“He does everything right,” said right tackle Brian O’Neill, a fellow team captain. “No job too small. Just a great example and role model for younger players of how to go about your business, how to take it seriously but not too seriously. How to carry yourself in a true professional manner.
And he’s still freaking good. The plays we’ve had out of 21 [two-back personnel] the last couple weeks have all hit.”
Even advanced analysis loves when coach Kevin O’Connell goes old school. The Vikings offense has the NFL’s third-best EPA (expected points added) per attempt when running from two-back personnel over the past seven games, according to Sports Info Solutions.
That’s a fancy way of saying Ham and his teammates are still hitting people really hard when he’s on the field.
If Ham wants to play an 11th Vikings season, coaches sound as if they would have him. Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips singled out Ham’s pass protection in his vital role on third downs.
“Over the years here, he’s been very valuable,” Phillips said. “We wouldn’t have gotten some of these balls off without him cleaning up” in pass protection.
“He’s really saved us up front in a lot of ways,” Phillips added.
STRIB
Between AJ Sr and Ham?
The Vikings have a couple of extraordinary locker room guys on this years roster.
Thats quite a RB room, that'll very likely get much younger in 26
![[-]](https://vikefans.com/forums/images/duende_v3_local/collapse.png)
