08-02-2020, 02:37 PM
The 60th training camp in Vikings history officially began more than a week ago. On Monday, as players are allowed to congregate on the field for the first time, it’s hardly a stretch to say the 2020 camp already ranks as one of the strangest in team history.
The Vikings placed eight players, including Pro Bowl linebacker Anthony Barr and first-round pick Justin Jefferson, on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list last week, after head athletic trainer and team infection control officer Eric Sugarman tested positive for the coronavirus himself. The total was near the top of the NFL after the first week of testing.
As the Vikings wait to get some of the group back, their healthy players will begin on-field preparation, with no fans in the training camp stands, for a season that will include no dress rehearsals.
This season will be the first in Vikings history without a preseason, thanks to an agreement between the league and NFL Players Association that eliminated exhibition games in the midst of the pandemic. If the league makes it to opening day, the first test for the Vikings’ reworked defense will be Aaron Rodgers, in a building with only a smattering of fans.
Testing and tracing a fact of life
All Vikings players who cleared the NFL’s initial set of coronavirus screenings — with three negative tests in four days before being allowed to enter the team’s practice facility — will be subject to daily COVID-19 tests for at least two weeks. If the positive test rate falls below 5% for all team personnel after two weeks, the Vikings can scale back to tests every other day. Test results are expected in 24 hours
Conditioning this week, practices next week
Even though NFL teams can get on the field Monday, they still won’t begin practicing until Aug. 12. They’ll spend the first segment of training camp in an eight-day conditioning period (with a mandatory day off next Saturday), to help replace a fraction of the training they lost with facilities closed and offseason programs canceled this spring.
By gradually bringing players back onto the field, the league and union hope to avoid a rash of soft-tissue injuries (such as hamstring and groin strains) that could come with an abrupt return to practices.
Opt-out deadline still looming
Even though players can start working out this week, they’ve still got time to opt out of the 2020 season; the deadline for players to opt out is a week after the league and union sign their agreement about how the 2020 season will operate, though the league was reportedly seeking to move the deadline to the middle of this week.
Practices: Lots to do in little time
A flurry of offseason moves means the Vikings will have at least four new starters on defense, including perhaps their youngest cornerback group in Mike Zimmer’s seven seasons as head coach. With no preseason games, the Vikings will have to operate on a truncated timetable.
“We’re going to have to set up situations throughout practice where we’re, number one, we’re going to have live contact,” Zimmer said on July 25. “We’re going to have to evaluate guys with some of our younger guys against our better guys and try to evaluate those players in those situations, so the evaluation part will probably be the biggest thing for a lot of these young guys.”
Whatever the Vikings do, they’ll have to work within tighter constraints than usual: Their first practice on Aug. 12 will be capped at 90 minutes; they can’t put pads on until Aug. 17; and they can practice in pads only 14 times from Aug. 17-Sept. 6
Defensive battles: Plenty of competition at corner
The Vikings’ secondary will be a major focus of attention during camp, with starting cornerback spots up for grabs among Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, Kris Boyd and such rookies as first-round pick Jeff Gladney and third-rounder Cameron Dantzler.
Zimmer has typically preferred to bring young corners along slowly, and said on July 25 the Vikings would still “have to start with the baby steps: footwork and hand placement and technique.”
If Gladney and Dantzler show they can pick up the particulars of Zimmer’s defense quickly, though, they could have opportunities to contribute.
On the defensive line, the Vikings will have to figure out a plan at nose tackle.
Offensive battles: Interior line needs to be sorted out
The Vikings’ lack of cap space this offseason meant they had few resources to improve their offensive line in free agency, and while second-round pick Ezra Cleveland could be the left tackle of the future, it’s difficult to project whether he’ll be ready to take on the starting job with only a few weeks of work in training camp.
That means if Riley Reiff stays at left tackle, the Vikings still need to figure out both of their guard spots, after cutting Josh Kline for cap reasons in March. Roster uncertainty could help Pat Elflein keep his spot, but second-year guard Dru Samia could push Elflein for a starting job. The Vikings will have to find another starter from the group of Dakota Dozier, Aviante Collins and Brett Jones, or potentially look at finding a veteran.
Their group of wide receivers will have a different look, too, with Jefferson on the COVID-19 reserve list and Stefon Diggs in Buffalo. Free-agent addition Tajae Sharpe and second-year man Bisi Johnson will get plenty of time to work alongside Adam Thielen, but the Vikings could use Jefferson’s potential for dynamism if he’s able to get healthy relatively soon.
https://www.startribune.com/for-vikings-...fresh=true
The Vikings placed eight players, including Pro Bowl linebacker Anthony Barr and first-round pick Justin Jefferson, on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list last week, after head athletic trainer and team infection control officer Eric Sugarman tested positive for the coronavirus himself. The total was near the top of the NFL after the first week of testing.
As the Vikings wait to get some of the group back, their healthy players will begin on-field preparation, with no fans in the training camp stands, for a season that will include no dress rehearsals.
This season will be the first in Vikings history without a preseason, thanks to an agreement between the league and NFL Players Association that eliminated exhibition games in the midst of the pandemic. If the league makes it to opening day, the first test for the Vikings’ reworked defense will be Aaron Rodgers, in a building with only a smattering of fans.
Testing and tracing a fact of life
All Vikings players who cleared the NFL’s initial set of coronavirus screenings — with three negative tests in four days before being allowed to enter the team’s practice facility — will be subject to daily COVID-19 tests for at least two weeks. If the positive test rate falls below 5% for all team personnel after two weeks, the Vikings can scale back to tests every other day. Test results are expected in 24 hours
Conditioning this week, practices next week
Even though NFL teams can get on the field Monday, they still won’t begin practicing until Aug. 12. They’ll spend the first segment of training camp in an eight-day conditioning period (with a mandatory day off next Saturday), to help replace a fraction of the training they lost with facilities closed and offseason programs canceled this spring.
By gradually bringing players back onto the field, the league and union hope to avoid a rash of soft-tissue injuries (such as hamstring and groin strains) that could come with an abrupt return to practices.
Opt-out deadline still looming
Even though players can start working out this week, they’ve still got time to opt out of the 2020 season; the deadline for players to opt out is a week after the league and union sign their agreement about how the 2020 season will operate, though the league was reportedly seeking to move the deadline to the middle of this week.
Practices: Lots to do in little time
A flurry of offseason moves means the Vikings will have at least four new starters on defense, including perhaps their youngest cornerback group in Mike Zimmer’s seven seasons as head coach. With no preseason games, the Vikings will have to operate on a truncated timetable.
“We’re going to have to set up situations throughout practice where we’re, number one, we’re going to have live contact,” Zimmer said on July 25. “We’re going to have to evaluate guys with some of our younger guys against our better guys and try to evaluate those players in those situations, so the evaluation part will probably be the biggest thing for a lot of these young guys.”
Whatever the Vikings do, they’ll have to work within tighter constraints than usual: Their first practice on Aug. 12 will be capped at 90 minutes; they can’t put pads on until Aug. 17; and they can practice in pads only 14 times from Aug. 17-Sept. 6
Defensive battles: Plenty of competition at corner
The Vikings’ secondary will be a major focus of attention during camp, with starting cornerback spots up for grabs among Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, Kris Boyd and such rookies as first-round pick Jeff Gladney and third-rounder Cameron Dantzler.
Zimmer has typically preferred to bring young corners along slowly, and said on July 25 the Vikings would still “have to start with the baby steps: footwork and hand placement and technique.”
If Gladney and Dantzler show they can pick up the particulars of Zimmer’s defense quickly, though, they could have opportunities to contribute.
On the defensive line, the Vikings will have to figure out a plan at nose tackle.
Offensive battles: Interior line needs to be sorted out
The Vikings’ lack of cap space this offseason meant they had few resources to improve their offensive line in free agency, and while second-round pick Ezra Cleveland could be the left tackle of the future, it’s difficult to project whether he’ll be ready to take on the starting job with only a few weeks of work in training camp.
That means if Riley Reiff stays at left tackle, the Vikings still need to figure out both of their guard spots, after cutting Josh Kline for cap reasons in March. Roster uncertainty could help Pat Elflein keep his spot, but second-year guard Dru Samia could push Elflein for a starting job. The Vikings will have to find another starter from the group of Dakota Dozier, Aviante Collins and Brett Jones, or potentially look at finding a veteran.
Their group of wide receivers will have a different look, too, with Jefferson on the COVID-19 reserve list and Stefon Diggs in Buffalo. Free-agent addition Tajae Sharpe and second-year man Bisi Johnson will get plenty of time to work alongside Adam Thielen, but the Vikings could use Jefferson’s potential for dynamism if he’s able to get healthy relatively soon.
https://www.startribune.com/for-vikings-...fresh=true
