>>>ALL THINGS VIKINGS<<<

You knew that Lewis Cine was just à matter of time was it REALLY a leg strain or did he just say f@@ķ it I quit,it just seemed everything was against him from beginning on draft night poor guy could never catch a break

 

J.J. McCarthy will see more first-team reps during Vikings training camp

We all know what the Minnesota Vikings coaches have said about the “competition” at quarterback. It’s well established that they have a plan with first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and they will bring him along at the pace they’re comfortable with. That likely means that Sam Darnold is going to be the starting quarterback when the 2024 season starts.

But is that the end of the story? How much wiggle room is there in the “plan,” and could McCarthy play his way into a starting role earlier than people may have thought? If he’s going to do any of that, he’s going to need reps—and those reps need to be with the first-team offense.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell is well aware of this and will give McCarthy an opportunity to capitalize on it. According to ESPN’s Minnesota Vikings beat reporter Kevin Seifert, O’Connell said that McCarthy “will eventually get some consistent first-team reps in training camp.”

However, O’Connell also quickly pointed out that Darnold “had earned the right to get the bulk of them (first-team reps) to this point.” Seifert went on to say that McCarthy will see those reps come when the offense hits the “sweet spot” of their offensive installation.

It’s early in the training camp process, but we’ve already seen several encouraging signs from the rookie quarterback. It’s always important to take training camp reports with a grain of salt, as everyone is overly optimistic these days. But the fact that this discussion is even taking place after just a few practices should likely be seen as a good sign.

VIKINGWIRE

 

I have read and heard about JJ McCarthy shinning Sam Darnold if you got some game left now the TIME to show it...the Vikings are giving you a chance to show out

 

As a Vikings fan you gotta be thick skinned and always ready for bad news... here is some more.

Robert Tonyan was carted off the practice field at Vikings training camp on Wednesday.

Details of his injury are unclear but reporters taking in the seventh practice of training camp say Tonyan was down on his back for a while before being carted off the field. If it's a serious injury that causes Tonyan to miss significant time, it puts the Vikings' tight end situation in a tough spot.

T.J. Hockenson, the No. 1 tight end on the roster, is just over seven months removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee and the expectation is that he won't be ready for the start of the regular season. He's currently on the physically unable to perform list and there is no timeline for when he'll be activated, but NFL players typically require 9-12 months of recovery after an ACL tear.

Tonyan was signed to fill the pass-catching role for Hockenson. Without Hockenson and Tonyan the tight end room consists of Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, N'Keal Harry and Trey Knox.

YARDBARKER

 

Well if it wasn't for bad luck they would have No Luck....I don't know what's happening seems like the injury bug is just running wild in NFL camps this year,this is not good the Vikings were counting on him to pickup the slack until Hockenson got back not good

 

Josh Oliver has good hands. That we can count on.

 

Thought he was a blocking TE Josh Oliver can he be a part of the passing game which is a Major part of the Vikings Offense is he a red zone target never thought about it before

 

He is going to be. No choice.

 

Justin Jefferson being “overly cautious” in trying to protect his hamstring

Justin Jefferson missed seven games last season with a torn right hamstring. The Vikings have been deliberate about his work in training camp this summer.

He had a day off Wednesday followed by a team off day Thursday before practicing Friday.

“I’m so scared for it to happen again that I’ve been overly cautious about it, just trying to take care of my body in the right way, just trying to find new things that I can implement in my day-to-day life that can better help me throughout the season,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “I’ve definitely been working on my hamstrings a little bit more, making sure that I’m injury-proof.”

In his first three seasons, Jefferson rarely took a rep off in training camp or practice, missed only one game and played more than 80 percent of the snaps each of those seasons.

Jefferson said he learned a lot about his body last season, and now he and the Vikings are working hard to prevent a re-injury of the soft tissue. Vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams put together a plan for Jefferson for this summer.

Jefferson is thinking about his hamstring now, but he doesn’t expect that to last long.

“I’ll get to the point where I feel like I’m not going to think of it again,” he said, “just because I feel like I’m going to push it to where it’s way strong enough for it not to happen again. It’s all about having the confidence in it and I can go out there and play freely.”

PFT/ESPN

 

T.J. Hockenson 'well ahead' of schedule, not yet ruled out for Week 1

T.J. Hockenson sprinting on the side fields at TCO Performance Center during Vikings training camp has led to speculation that the star tight end's recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last Christmas is ahead of schedule. Well, on Friday we found out that Hockenson is ahead of schedule.

"Every time I see him working on the side field it becomes awful tempting to corner [head trainer Tyler Williams] somewhere in the building and demand answers on when we'll be able to stat implementing him maybe off the [physically unable to perform list] and get him a little bit of work," head coach Kevin O'Connell quipped Friday. "Whether it's just simply individual, some routes on air, start getting him some timing with our quarterbacks."

That's encouraging information from the coach, but there's a but...

"But," O'Connell continued, "where he's at, albeit very well ahead of maybe where some of the medical folks thought he would be, there is an injury there that a timeline exists and we're going to try to stay true to that while also giving him ops to push to maybe shrink that timeline a little bit."

Is O'Connell ready to start thinking about Hockenson playing in the opener Sept. 8 against the Giants?

No, not yet," O'Connell said.

No as in Hockenson won't play in Week 1 or no as in he's just not ready to talk about that possiblity?

"No, I don't think it would be responsible at this point with where he's at in his rehab to start even me personally thinking about are we going to have him or are we not," O'Connell replied. "I want him focusing on what he can control, which is what he's done an unbelievable job of so far which is his daily mission of just attacking this thing one day at a time."

After all of that, what have we learned? Hockenson is well ahead of schedule seven months after the Dec. 24 injury and the door on him playing in the season opener hasn't officially been closed.

The Sept. 8 opener is just over six weeks away. If Hockenson does play in the opener, his time between games since the injury would be 259 days. Coincidentally, Vikings legend Adrian Peterson torn his ACL on Dec. 24, 2011 and played in Minnesota's 2012 season opener 260 days and went on to rush for 2,097 yards and win the MVP award.

YARDBARKER

 

Don't rush the guy back oh now he's ahead of schedule? Hmm, the Justin Jefferson thing scares me if not his hamstring then it might be a high ankle injury shoulder injury always fearful of that ACL

 

Vikings starting defensive tackle Jerry Tillery left Saturday's practice with an apparent lower-body injury.

Tillery went down after a rep early in practice and was on his back for a couple minutes, being looked at by trainers. Both Kevin O'Connell and Harrison Phillips also stopped by to check on him. Eventually, Tillery was helped up and left the field on a golf cart to be evaluated by medical personnel inside TCO Performance Center.

It would be a tough break for the Vikings' defensive line if Tillery's injury is anything serious. He's been working with the first-team defense alongside Phillips and Jonathan Bullard all camp long. In his absence, veteran Jonah Williams and rookie Levi Drake Rodriguez saw some time with the starters on Saturday.

Per/ YARDBARKER

 

— Sam Darnold continued to lock in with Justin Jefferson. They connected on possibly their most impressive pass yet, a long out-breaking route in which Darnold layered the ball to Jefferson and the superstar receiver rose up above the corner to make the grab in spectacular fashion. They have hit on timing routes across the middle several times as well, indicating that Darnold is getting the rhythm of the offense down better.


— JJ McCarthy had a really solid bounce-back practice after a tough day on Friday. In particular two of his standout plays were a downfield completion against a Flores all-out blitz and a laser to Jalen Nailor on a scramble drill play that highlighted his athleticism and ability to throw on the run.

— DT Jerry Tillery got hurt and spent a long time on the ground before he got up and walked to the cart to be taken off. No word on his injury but Kevin O’Connell and Harrison Phillips both spent time talking to him while he was down, which made it appear potentially serious. We will wait for further updates on his status.

— Jonathan Bullard returned to practice but Levi Drake Rodriguez still saw a number of first-team reps.

— Brandon Powell continued to work with the 1s as much or more than Nailor. The WR3 competition might end up being WR3 and WR3a.

— Will Reichard kicked the stuffing out of the football, going 6-for-6 including two over 50 yards.

— N’Keal Harry left early in practice, leaving UDFA Trey Knox to catch a half dozen passes in his absence. Robert Tonyan was still out as well as Shaq Griffin and Lewis Cine.

YARDBARKER
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Outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy and cornerback Dwight McGlothern are getting a whole lot of attention... both UDFA's. Some are saying they will impact this team like Ivan Pace Jr did last season... Stay tuned.

 

Since training camp started, the Vikings have had their share of injuries. Minnesota’s potential starting cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL, and veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin suffered an injury that didn’t appear to be too serious.

On Saturday, the Vikings suffered three more injuries, the severities of which were unknown at the time of publication. Tight end N’Keal Harry and rookie edge rusher Gabriel Murphy suffered injuries, neither of which appeared to be serious.

However, defensive lineman Jerry Tillery suffered an injury that looked serious, according to reporters who were in attendance. According to Matthew Coller, it looked to be some sort of leg injury. The cart came out for Tillery while several players and coaches were huddled over him. Tillery got up and onto the golf cart, but either way, it’s not a good sign for the Vikings.

Tillery was working with the starters during training camp, and Minnesota could be without another potential starter for some time.

VIKINGSWIRE
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Since I mentioned Murphy, he gets injured... not serios hopefully.

 

After NFL Media’s latest announcement, the Minnesota Vikings are poised to kick off their preseason schedule on a national stage.

The quarterback battle between Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy will be televised on NFL Network on August 10 at 3:00 PM CST. Sam Darnold is expected to start for the Vikings, with J.J. McCarthy also earning reps. It is yet to be determined if McCarthy will have any series with the first-team offense as he has in practice during training camp.

We will also get an early look at how the other rookies in the class such as Dallas Turner will look against top-end NFL talent such as Kolton Miller. What Davante Adams and the Vikings receivers will do to a Vikings secondary that is still trying to get its footing may not be as fun to watch.

 

I think might have dodged the injury bug concerning Jerry Tillery (sp )

 

I read he actually got cleated in the leg... he should be good to go soon.

 

Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison has been charged with two misdemeanors following his July 12 arrest in Los Angeles on suspicion of DUI, according to the Star Tribune's Ben Goessling. Addison was charged last week with "driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with blood-alcohol content over California’s legal limit of .08 percent." He was found asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle, obstructing lanes of highway traffic near Los Angeles International Airport.

Addison, 21, has an Oct. 7 court date, which is the day after the Vikings play the Jets in London. If he pleads guilty or is convicted, he could pay up to $2,000 in fines, lose his driver's license for up to six months, or face up to six months in jail.

From a football standpoint, Addison is likely facing a three-game suspension from the NFL. That's the punishment for a first-time criminal offense involving alcohol, as laid out in the league's substance abuse policy. Addison was cited last July for driving 140 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone in St. Paul, but alcohol was not a factor in that incident. He ultimately pled guilty to a petty misdemeanor, resulting in a small fine and a six-month suspension of his license.

YARDBARKER
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What a dumbass. He's got 2 strikes behind the wheel so far... hope he straightens up or quits driving all-together. He just might push-up daisies or even worse cause someone else to do that.

 

Sam Darnold and JJ McCarthy looking sharp,when wiĺĺ the Vikings ever get the Defensive backfield together it's been a weak spot for years