Training camp has arrived

[StickierBuns]

https://twitter.com/mattanderson_8/status/1818771840711770469?s=12&t=Fsf-dv40gyKIlBgIxBE2dg

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JJ with a big time throw to the left against live defense...

BOOM

Its so good, its got its own thread! 

[purplefaithful]

https://twitter.com/TPPSkol/status/1818991295425139037

I wouldn't be shocked if there were meaningful December games either...

I still contend it'll be a rough start looking at the schedule and they're are really hurting @ corner right now.

[StickierBuns]

Sigh. Ed.....Ingram. Can't. Pass. block.

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...1607909722

[MAD GAINZ]

I wouldn't be shocked if there were meaningful December games either...

I still contend it'll be a rough start looking at the schedule and they're are really hurting @ corner right now.

We'll see, the NFL has a habit of changing year to year.  Teams like Houston make fall back a little after a surprise year last season.  Stroud is good, but maybe he falls back a bit?  The Giants are and will continue to be a dumpster fire.  Is Green Bay good or did they get hot at the right time in the playoffs?  They went to the wire with Carolina and pulled out a narrow victory, lost the Bucs and Giants, but beat Dallas and lost by a TD to a very good SF team. 

I think we'll be considered underdogs with Darnold at QB, but if he plays solid, I expect the defense will be even better than last year.  Think we can win some games on the back of JJ, Aaron Jones, and our D.

[purplefaithful]

The receiver room at TCO Performance Center has one bona fide NFL superstar (Justin Jefferson), one second-year phenom whose only career impediments are his decisions behind the wheel of a car (Jordan Addison) and …

Nine guys who make you go meh while eyeballing the WR3 battle in training camp.

Whether the Vikings actually have a legitimate third receiver on the roster or will need to scrounge one up from somewhere else after final cuts remains to be seen. Either way, the need to identify the WR3 is urgent because of the formations coach Kevin O’Connell likes to use and the fact Addison is staring at the probability of a league suspension after two driving arrests in the past year, including one for DWI earlier this month.

Last season
Jefferson played only 10 games because of a hamstring injury but still had a fourth straight 1,000-yard season (1,074) and five touchdowns on 68 catches — all career lows for a guy who had never missed a game before. He’s one of the best in the league and the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. And, oh yeah, he’s only 25.
Addison lived up to his rookie first-round billing in Year 1 without Adam Thielen, who signed with Carolina. Addison caught 10 touchdown passes, including six with Jefferson on the field. Addison also had 911 yards on 70 catches.

High expectations for K.J. Osborn’s contract year fizzled quickly. He posted career lows for catches (48), yards (540) and touchdowns (three) before the Vikings let him leave for New England and a one-year, $4 million deal.
The only other receivers to catch a ball last year were journeyman punt returner Brandon Powell (29), Jalen Nailor (three) and Trishton Jackson (one).

Offseason moves
In: Ty James (rookie free agent), Jeshaun Jones (rookie free agent), Trent Sherfield (free agent, Bills).
Out: Osborn (free agency, Patriots).

The contenders
Powell, who turns 29 on Sept. 12, entered camp as the favorite, albeit a slight one. The shifty little returner/slot receiver is a career overachiever probably better suited as the fourth receiver.

Jalen Nailor gained ground on and might have surpassed Powell in Week 1 of camp, which Nailor capped Saturday in head-turning fashion with three touchdown catches from three different quarterbacks. Nailor, 25, was a sixth-round draft pick in 2022. In the final two regular-season games of his rookie season, he caught seven balls for 151 yards and a touchdown, but his 2023 season was derailed from the get-go by injuries.

If he sidesteps the hamstring and concussion issues that limited him to three catches in 2023, Nailor will be the No. 1 guy to watch at WR3.

The Vikings have seven other receivers besides the ones mentioned. Only two of them have caught a pass in the NFL — Sherfield (78) and Jackson (two). Sherfield, 28, is with his fifth team in seven seasons. His best year was 2022, when he caught 30 balls for 417 yards and two touchdowns with Miami. He had 11 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown with the Bills last year and was the only experienced receiver the Vikings brought in this offseason.

One big question
Are the Vikings done shopping for receivers?

One has to wonder if the Vikings are done signing receivers ahead of Week 1. Especially with the probability of a multi-game suspension that could sideline Addison as early as that first game.

The pickings currently are slim among available receivers. Former Saints All-Pro Michael Thomas, 31, is unsigned. He’s damaged goods, having played in only 20 games in the five seasons since he led the league in catches (149) and yards receiving (1,725) in 2019. Julio Jones also is out there, but he’s 35.
A more likely scenario is the Vikings give the contenders they have the first crack while keeping a close eye on better alternatives that could become available when the other 31 teams make their final cuts.

https://www.startribune.com/wide-receive.../600387405

[kmillard]

Sigh. Ed.....Ingram. Can't. Pass. block.

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...1607909722

A new unexpected development.

[StickierBuns]

https://twitter.com/Kramer9Tommy/status/...gr%5Etweet

Practice today at 3:00 pm central, I think its full pads.

[purplefaithful]

This is the tale of one camp practice in the life of Justin Jefferson, Vikings superstar, the most productive 25-year-old wide receiver in NFL history and, of course, creator of the dance that squeaky 8-year-old observers absolutely cannot stop requesting at the top of their lungs.

It was Friday afternoon. A day when rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy got his first two snaps with the first team in the red-zone period. A day when tight end Johnny Mundt would receive three red-zone targets to Jefferson’s zero. A day when veteran quarterback Sam Darnold would thread a nice ball past safety Theo Jackson’s earhole into Jefferson’s soft hands for a 20-yard gain as the offense scored in the practice-ending situational period. And a day when Jefferson would admit to being “so scared” of suffering another hamstring injury like the one that sidelined him for seven games last season.

But first, practice begins with those lovable, squeaky children who fill the hot airwaves daily with pure adoration for the face of the Vikings, if not the NFL.

3 p.m.: The Vikings’ 1-hour, 45-minute practice is beginning. Jefferson runs past the grandstand at TCO Performance Center. Fans cheer. Little boys screech, “Jefferson!”, “JETS!”, “J.J.” and, of course, “Hit the Griddy!” Jefferson pats his heart and smiles but doesn’t acknowledge the screams thereafter, even though he hears them aplenty.
“It gets me prepared for the tough crowds when we go on the away games,” Jefferson said with a laugh. “It’s pretty similar, sure. Going two hours of kids yelling your name and telling you to Griddy. It gets tiresome.”

3:15 p.m.: Special teams drills are going on. Jefferson stands and talks to coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. The team had an off day on Thursday. On Wednesday, O’Connell gave Jefferson a “vet” day. Jefferson doesn’t like the term but agrees with giving his hamstring off days after what happened last year.

“I’m so scared for it to happen again that I’ve been overly cautious about it, taking care of my body,” he said. “Just trying to find new ways, new things that I can implement in my day-to-day life that would help me throughout the season.”

He says there will come a day when he’s not scared of re-injury.

“I’ll get to the point where I won’t be thinking about it,” he said. “I’m going to push it to where it’s way stronger enough for it not to happen again.”

3:35 p.m.: O’Connell is throwing to receivers during individual warmups. Tom Brady’s backup back in the day hits Jefferson on a 20-yard fade for a touchdown.
“He has a pretty good arm,” Jefferson said. “He’s always acting like he has the strongest arm. He can throw it a little bit.”

3:50 p.m.: Darnold overthrows Jefferson on a deep ball during one-on-one drills. On his next opportunity, Jefferson runs a great route, selling the deep ball, cutting hard and making a grab in front of cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.

“There are always things for me to work on, things for me to get better at,” Jefferson said. “I figure out those things throughout the day. I try to be as perfect as possible even though I’m not perfect.”

4:22 p.m.: The first red-zone series for the first team ends with Darnold throwing two balls to Mundt and nada to Jefferson. Mundt catches one of the balls in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

“It happens,” Jefferson shrugs. “A majority of those times, I’m doubled or I’m tripled in the red zone. It’s always good to see others get shots in the red zone. There are other people on the field, so we need to spread the ball around.”

4:30 p.m.: McCarthy’s first action with the first team finally arrives! He gets two red-zone snaps — handing the ball off to Jordan Addison on a jet sweep and then nearly getting picked off at the goal line by Jackson on a throw to Mundt.

Jefferson said he was happy to see the rookie in the big-boy huddle.

“It’s expected,” Jefferson said. “Somebody like him throwing the ball like he has and making the plays he has. We’re going to give him a chance with the ones to see how he looks, how he goes about it. All of the pressure is on you. I feel he’s doing a great job coming along in general.”

After practice: Jefferson is asked about the difference between the two quarterbacks.

“Sam is more of a vet quarterback; he likes to put touch on the ball here and there,” Jefferson said. “He knows what speed he needs to throw the ball. J.J.’s still young and just wants to rip it all the time. You can say J.J. has that strong arm and just wants to get it there and Sam knows when to put some touch on it and when to sling it.”

Etc.
⋅ O’Connell gave vet days off to safety Harrison Smith, guard Dalton Risner and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.
⋅ Safety Lewis Cine (leg), cornerback Shaq Griffin (hamstring) and tight end Robert Tonyan (back) missed practice again. Rookie outside linebacker Bo Richter also didn’t practice.

https://www.startribune.com/vikings-trai.../600701280

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Griffin still not practicing

It shouldn’t be much longer for veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin. That said, Griffin still has not practiced since suffering a leg injury early in training camp.

“He’s definitely progressing,” O’Connell said. “I know Shaq is doing everything he can and was off to a really good start doing a lot of the things.”

There have been a number of players added to the secondary over the past week, including veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau, who has already been working with the first-team defense. It will be interesting to see if Griffin steps back into a starting role once he’s available.

“He’s dialed in and engaged in meetings and walkthroughs,” O’Connell said. “That leads me to believe he’ll be OK.”

Tonyan avoids serious injury

After being carted off the field earlier this week, veteran tight end Robert Tonyan has avoided a serious injury.

That’s good news for the Vikings given how well he has performed so far.

Though it looked grim when it happened, O’Connell confirmed that Tonyan was suffering from back spasms. He will go through the recovery process on his own with the goal of being able to return at some point later this month during the slate of exhibition games.

“He’s going to be working through a lower back thing,” O’Connell said. “We hope to get him back soon.”

https://www.twincities.com/2024/08/02/vi...y-process/

[StickierBuns]

Looks like the D took the day yesterday, good learning moments for JJM. It can be hot and heavy in the pocket in the NFL, he has to feel that and learn to operate. Good stuff.

https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/viki...j4ahb404kt

[comet52]

Sigh. Ed.....Ingram. Can't. Pass. block.

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/statu...1607909722

He's in mid season form. Just another plum from our fantastic 2022 draft class.