Vikings Summer season Drama Has A number of Shifting Components

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell reacts throughout observe at coaching camp in Eagan, Minnesota. On Aug. 3, 2024, O’Connell continued overseeing preparations for the upcoming season whereas guiding Minnesota by way of one other aggressive summer time camp stuffed with roster battles, quarterback growth, and set up work on either side of the ball. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports activities.

The summer time isn’t distant for NFL groups, and this go-round, the Minnesota Vikings can have a wee little bit of drama. It’s the character of the beast.

Minicamp begins the method. Coaching camp will later ship some solutions.

They’ll have minicamp in June, coaching camp in July and August, and three preseason video games thereafter.

Minnesota’s Summer season Questions Begin with QB Stability

The suspenseful gadgets across the bend for Minnesota.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray throws a go throughout second-quarter motion towards the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston on Nov. 19, 2023. Murray continued working his method again into rhythm after getting back from damage in the course of the 2023 marketing campaign, showcasing his mobility, arm expertise, and playmaking capability because the Cardinals evaluated their long-term path at quarterback. Obligatory Credit score: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports activities.

1. Will There Be a Actual QB Battle?

Minnesota inked Kyler Murray in March, and based mostly on his talent set, resume, and fame, he ought to begin in Week 1, nearly it doesn’t matter what. Nonetheless, the Vikings will promote a quarterback competitors between Murray and J.J. McCarthy, the third-year professional who battled accidents and erratic efficiency final season.

The dramatic facet right here is whether or not McCarthy makes this an actual battle — or if it simply turns into so apparent that Murray is the starter that coaching camp serves as a coronation.

Some fringe thinkers imagine McCarthy may rating the upset. In that case, coaching camp might be ultra-suspenseful.

2. Is There Any Malarkey with Christian Darrisaw’s Knee?

Darrisaw is probably going on observe for Week 1, and whereas that continues to be the cheap expectation, the Vikings want concrete affirmation. “Probably fine” isn’t sufficient for a franchise left sort out.

Minnesota added some safety two weeks in the past by drafting Northwestern sort out Caleb Tiernan in Spherical 3. This transfer doesn’t scream panic; as an alternative, it merely offers the Vikings with a fallback plan ought to Darrisaw’s restoration encounter setbacks or take longer than anticipated.

Darrisaw tore his ACL in late October 2024, and the Vikings shut him down in December 2025 as a result of his restoration wasn’t progressing as hoped.

3. Who Will get Extensions?

One, some, or all of those gamers can moderately ask the Vikings’ entrance workplace for an extension this summer time:

Jordan Addison (WR)

Blake Brandel (C)

Blake Cashman (ILB)

Jordan Mason (RB)

Brian O’Neill (RT)

Isaiah Rodgers (CB)

Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)

Jay Ward (S)

So, we ask, who will get locked down for the lengthy haul?

Minnesota Vikings offensive sort out Brian O’Neill celebrates with working again Cam Akers after a landing throughout fourth-quarter motion towards the Chicago Bears at U.S. Financial institution Stadium in Minneapolis on Dec. 16, 2024. O’Neill remained a stabilizing presence on Minnesota’s offensive line, serving to lead the blocking effort because the Vikings generated momentum late within the divisional contest. Obligatory Credit score: Brad Rempel-Imagn Photos.

A to Z Sports activities‘ Tyler Forness noted on O’Neill in March, “O’Neill has been a very solid player for the Vikings in his nine seasons, but the extension will start in his age 33 season, which is going to somewhat limit what he gets. Plus, it’s highly unlikely that O’Neill gets paid more than his teammate, Christian Darrisaw, who is the seventh-highest-paid offensive tackle.”

“Looking at the top right tackle contracts, which is how O’Neill will be judged with his extension, it’s very likely he will be a top-five paid right tackle. Will he be paid more than Lane Johnson, who is being paid an average of $25 million? I doubt it, especially since O’Neill isn’t better than Johnson, who might be the best offensive tackle to have ever played football.”

4. Harrison Smith, in Normal

For about 4 months, Vikings followers have contemplated a single query: Will Harrison Smith keep, or will he go?

With Could’s arrival, the dialog has shifted. Now, the elemental query is whether or not Smith will come again. The extended silence makes it straightforward to marvel if he’s already gone for good.

The Vikings did add Miami security Jakobe Thomas in Spherical 3 of the draft, however that acquisition didn’t really feel like a direct alternative for Smith. Whereas Minnesota handed on different notable safeties — together with Dillon Thieneman, whom many anticipated to be the Vikings’ choose, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren — the draft didn’t yield a definitive successor. This means that if Smith was certainly ready to see the Vikings’ draft strikes, nobody definitively stepped in to say his job.

Many possible assumed Smith would have retired by now if that had been his plan this offseason. Nonetheless, Smith has beforehand quipped that his retirement would go unnoticed, exactly as a result of he wouldn’t make a grand announcement.

Maybe that quiet departure is unfolding proper earlier than everybody’s eyes.

5. Caleb Banks and His Foot

The perfect-case state of affairs is that Banks might be absolutely cleared by coaching camp, prepared for a ordinary summer time workload.

Conversely, the Vikings may train excessive warning with him, a transfer that wouldn’t shock anybody. Minnesota is understood for its cautious method to accidents, significantly with gamers in whom they’ve a big funding, and Banks definitely suits that description.

Florida Gators defensive lineman Caleb Banks participates in a drill throughout spring soccer observe at Steve Spurrier Area at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on April 1, 2023. Banks entered his Florida tenure with intriguing dimension and athleticism, growing right into a disruptive defensive entrance presence whereas constructing his profile for future NFL consideration. Obligatory Credit score: Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Solar.

His draft inventory plummeted after he broke his foot on the NFL Mix. Foot accidents are a significant concern for groups, particularly with massive offensive and defensive linemen, inflicting Banks to go from a projected 1st-Spherical lock to a ‘maybe Round 2’ prospect nearly in a single day.

The Vikings, nonetheless, remained unfazed, choosing Banks in Spherical 1 simply two weeks in the past and betting that the damage wouldn’t be a big long-term concern. It’s a ginormous guess for a crew that hasn’t drafted effectively within the final half-decade.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … Extra about Dustin Baker