Category: 2022 Preseason

27 Vikings Will Not Play Saturday vs 49ers

Saturday will be the Kellen Mond show

The Minnesota Vikings had a fantastic week of joint practices against the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams were uber-competitive and we saw some ferocious battles throughout.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert mentioned after day two of practice that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings rested their top line players. The idea being they got a lot of reps during practice and didn’t need the in-game reps.

An hour and a half before game time, the Vikings announced that 27 players will not play during Saturday night’s game.

In this group is every first team player other than Armon Watts, who is competing with James Lynch for a starting job on the defensive line. The 49ers will also be sitting 27 players with both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo sitting out.

While the starters won’t be playing, it will be a great opportunity to see the rookies and second string players.

Welcome to the Kellen Mond show.

4 Things to Watch Heading Into Week 2 vs San Francisco

The most important game of the preseason is on Saturday

The second week of the preseason is arguably the most important.

Much like week three used to be before the 17th game was added last year, week two is treated like a dress rehearsal. This game has some game planning involved and gives players and teams a true game week experience.

Usually, the starters will play a significant amount of time. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, that might not be the case for the Vikings having spent two days facing the 49ers in joint practices.

If they don’t play much on Saturday, it will be great for the young players to get some extra reps in. With the game not meaning anything from a record standpoint, the score is less important than the performance of players and units.

Here are four things that you need to be watching out for during Saturday’s game.

 

49ers vs Vikings 2022 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The Vikings play in their second preseason game on Saturday

After a week of joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings are ready to play their second preseason game.

While the first game didn’t go as planned as far as the score, we saw many standouts from the game. The running backs led the way, outshining Alexander Mattison by a lot. Kellen Mond also showed that he can carry the load as the backup quarterback and Ed Ingram looked like the best offensive lineman on the field.

On defense, the Vikings new defensive scheme looks like it will be a lot of fun Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell ran a lot of stunts and pass rushers will be coming from everywhere. In the secondary, we saw the debuts of top picks Andrew Booth Jr. and Lewis Cine.

As the Vikings transition to the 3-4 Vic Fangio-style defense, there will continue to be some growing pains, but it will allow the playmakers to make plays.

Here’s how to watch the game.

There is Nobody Like Justin Jefferson

We are not worthy of Justin Jefferson’s greatness

The Minnesota Vikings might have drafted the best wide receiver in team history at pick 22 of the 2020 NFL draft.

That’s some very high praise considering the Viking also drafted Randy Moss in 1998 and Stefon Diggs, whom Jefferson is forever linked to, in 2014.

During the last two seasons, Jefferson has set numerous receiving records and proven himself to be one of the best wide receivers in the game today.

During practice, Jefferson made a highlight-style catch that would make Sports Center’s Top 10 and he made it look easy.

It’s no secret that Jefferson is having a phenomenal camp and these clips from practice are going to become the norm. This season, Jefferson is about to take his game to a new level with Kevin O’Connell at the helm.

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Fox NFL Sunday Anchor Can Feel the Change

The Fox Sports anchor feels the change

The Minnesota Vikings went all-in to try and right the ship this offseason.

Seeing that things weren’t going towards a Super Bowl, ownership decided to move on and try a different approach.

Adding General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell was the first step in that process with the focus on bringing a culture of collaboration.

When visiting the joint practices between the Vikings and San Francisco 49ers, Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee sees the change in energy.

“It’s a totally different atmosphere than it’s been before,” said Menefee. “And that’s not a knock against Mike Zimmer’s regime. I love Mike he’s one of my favorite guys. This camp feels lighter. There is a different energy around this team right now. That’s something you can only get by visiting a team at training camp.”

High praise from the well-traveled host of Fox’s pregame show.

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Rookie Standout Chandler Injured in Practice

The young running back is dealing with a minor injury

The Vikings appeared to have struck gold in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Ty Chandler was drafted as a fifth-year senior after spending four seasons at Tennessee and one standout year at North Carolina in 2021. In his first NFL game action, he shined against the Las Vegas Raiders. He ran for 50 yards on just five carries and had a 56-yard kick return in the third quarter.

During practice on Wednesday, Chandler, unfortunately, suffered an injury to his ankle.

With head coach Kevin O’Connell being optimistic about him playing on Saturday, it’s a good sign that the injury isn’t serious.

It’s also curious that beat writer Kevin Seifert thinks that a lot of front-line guys won’t play due to practice. This bodes well for where the team is currently at and gives the young players reps.

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Trent Williams Has High Praise for Vikings Lineman

The 49ers All-Pro believes in the second-year tackle

The Vikings might have gotten a steal in the draft last year.

In the 2020 NFL draft, the Vikings were very interested in trading with the Washington Commanders for All-Pro tackle Trent Williams. It came out on day three of the draft that Williams wouldn’t play for the Vikings so he wound up in San Francisco.

Upon arrival, Williams has been a massive difference maker, dominating for the 49ers and earning a league-high extension for his troubles.

After day two of joint practices, Williams spoke about his growing relationship with the second-year tackle Christian Darrisaw.

Considering he was just compared to Williams, the fact that his relationship is growing with the All-Pro is a great sign.

Darrisaw is primed for a great season opposite Brian O’Neill.

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This Play Shows Justin Jefferson’s Versatility and Explosiveness

Justin Jefferson can create a big play from anywhere

This Vikings offense is going to be fun this season.

The idea of bringing in Kevin O’Connell from the Rams to replace Mike Zimmer was to improve creativity with the play calling and schemes.

The Vikings had a relatively vanilla offense last year and believe that O’Connell can accentuate the positives while improving the negatives.

The “Cooper Kupp role” has been a major focus this offseason and if Justin Jefferson would slide right into that role. While it’s unlikely that the role is 1:1, Jefferson will definitely be used in a more creative way. That was on full display in practice on Wednesday afternoon against the San Francisco 49ers.

Motioning into the backfield, Jefferson ran a route of the backfield. It’s a common route out of the backfield where the receiver angles toward the sidelines and then cuts toward the middle of the field. He then took the reception down the field for a huge play.

Get excited Viking fans, this kind of creativity will be present all season.

Two Vikings Cuts Reverted to Injured Reserve

Two former Vikings reverted to injured reserve

There are multiple ways for a team to remove a player from the active roster. The usual ways to do so are to release or trade them to another team.

Before the season begins, there is a multitude of ways to do so. There is the physically unable to perform list, injured reserve and the non-football injury list.

Waiving a player with less than four years of vested experience can also revert to injured reserve. Two of the Vikings cuts yesterday did just that after they weren’t claimed via waivers.

Neither Hennigan nor Stevenson were projected to make the final roster, so the Vikings holding onto their rights until next season helps their development and the hope that they will take a step forward.

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Greg Jennings believes in the Minnesota Vikings

Former Vikings WR believes in the purple and gold

Back in 2013, Greg Jennings left the Green Bay Packers via free agency in search of his next home.

That March, Jennings signed a five-year, $45 million contract to play in Minnesota. It was the beginning of the end for Leslie Frazier’s tenure. Jennings caught 127 passes for 1,546 yards and 10 touchdowns during his two seasons with the Vikings.

Having been recently hired by The 33rd Team, Jennings was tasked with predicting the NFC North. His prediction is one that Vikings fans hope come true.

“This team is prepped, primed and ready to compete against the Green Bay Packers. The Minnesota Vikings are a team that the Green Bay Packers have shown that they struggle with. This team in purple does not fear Aaron Rodgers and supporting cast.”

With a new regime in place, the Vikings just might be in prime position to take over the NFC North.

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