Category: Minnesota Vikings

Jaguars HC Doug Pederson has a simple answer for what makes Sam Darnold better

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson spoke to the media about the matchup before he was asked a simple question to which he gave a simple answer.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings faceoff on Sunday in a Week 10 matchup. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson spoke to the media about the matchup before he was asked a simple question to which he gave a simple answer.

When asked what has allowed for Sam Darnold to turn things around this season, Pederson gave a simple answer: “Justin Jefferson.”

To his credit, Pederson did laugh after giving the answer and went on to credit the coaching staff led by Kevin O’Connell and the scheme they are executing. The answer of Jefferson though perhaps was a glimpse into the truth that teams around the league feel about him.

The All-Pro wide receiver is on pace for a monster season with Darnold. Through nine weeks he is pacing for 102 catches, 1,663 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns. Of course, he makes anyone he plays with better, but Darnold plays a part in Jefferson’s production, as much as Jefferson helps out Darnold.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel was ‘banged up’ against the Colts in Week 9

The Vikings will have to keep an eye on their prized free agent signing.

Rookie Dallas Turner saw 26 snaps on Sunday in the win over the Colts, which was the most he’s seen since Week 1 against the Giants. It turns out that there is a reason why he had to play more.

When defensive coordinator Brian Flores took the podium on Tuesday to answer questions, he revealed Andrew Van Ginkel was “banged up”.

“I know that’s something that a lot of people have been talking about. I think you know, Gink (Van Ginkel) was a little bit not hurt, a minor thing that he was dealing with. So, you know, Dallas is the next guy in. He went in, you know, played well. Gink said he was ready to go back in, and we kept the same kind of grouping for the remainder of the game, and Dallas did a few good things as well. So again, that’s a deep room. There’s a lot of good players in there. And you know, by and large, we’ll go to the hot hand.”

It will be worth monitoring Van Ginkel’s health status as the week progresses.

Cowboys release former Vikings second round pick

After making a trade, the Cowboys cut ties with the former Minnesota corner.

The Dallas Cowboys cut cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. on Tuesday after trading with the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo. Booth Jr., the former Viking, lasted just nine games with Dallas.

The Vikings traded the former Clemson Tiger back in August when the two teams agreed on a player swap. Minnesota took on cornerback Nahshon Wright from Dallas for Booth Jr.

Booth Jr. recorded six total tackles in two games during his short tenure with Dallas.

Minnesota selected Booth Jr. with a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. But he struggled to stay on the field with the Vikings. In Minnesota, Booth Jr. recorded 20 total tackles and one pass deflection in two years. His name came up time and time again in trade speculation, but it never seemed to bother the former Clemson Tiger. And when it finally happened, it felt like it was a breath of fresh air and a chance to turn his career around.

However, after being cut by Dallas, Booth Jr. will look for another NFL opportunity.

Vikings place long snapper on IR, sign former Lion Jake McQuaide

The Vikings make a move at long snapper following injuries to several prominent special teams players.

It was a rough week for the Vikings’ special teams. Although Minnesota ended its losing streak on Sunday night and took down the Colts, Vikings’ rookie kicker Will Reichard missed two field goals — first of the season. Come to find out, Reichard is hurt and will likely miss some games.

But Reichard isn’t the only specialist who will miss some time. Long snapper Andrew DePaola suffered a hand injury during Sunday’s game. He will have a surgical procedure that will sideline him for multiple weeks.

The Vikings signed former Lions’ long snapper Jake McQuaide to replace DePaola. He is in his 14th NFL season and spent most of his career with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. He overlapped there in the 2020 season with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who was the Rams’ offensive coordinator at the time. McQuaide is a 36-year-old veteran and has made two Pro Bowls in his career.

Minnesota is hoping he will come right in and fit the mold.

Two Vikings rookies mentioned by The Athletic’s All-Rookie team

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

The 2024 NFL Draft has proven to have a larger impact than many expected following the injury to J.J. McCarthy. Despite losing their first-round quarterback, the draft class has produced several reliable players for the team.

The Athletic recognized the work of General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday.

Dane Brugler wrote up his selection for his midseason All-Rookie team, and two Vikings made the cut: first-round pick Dallas Turner and sixth-round pick Will Reichard. Turner has started to play more in recent weeks, including in Week 9 against the Colts. Reichard, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the more reliable kickers in the NFL.

Reichard did not miss a kick all season until Week 9, though his misses against the Colts could be blamed on a quad injury he suffered.

Turner had been struggling to find playing time with the depth the Vikings have at edge rusher, but he may finally be earning the coaching staff’s trust.

Vikings sign kicker John Parker Romo as Will Reichard heads to IR

After announcing on Tuesday that kicker Will Reichard would head to IR, the team announced the signing of kicker John Parker Romo.

The Minnesota Vikings ended their two-game losing streak on Sunday Night Football last week against the Indianapolis Colts, but the win didn’t come without a cost — particularly to the Vikings’ special teams unit.

During the game, the Vikings lost most of their kicking group, as both long snapper Andrew DePaola and kicker Will Reichard suffered significant injuries. The team announced on Tuesday that both players would be headed to injured reserve.

DePaola suffered a hand injury while Reichard strained his right quad during the game. With Reichard heading to injured reserve and the team not having another kicker on the roster, it was inevitable that Minnesota would sign someone. Tuesday afternoon, we learned that someone is John Parker Romo.

Romo’s interesting and winding-kicking journey dates back to his collegiate days. He started his college career with the Central Arkansas Bears, serving as their kickoff specialist and only attempting one field goal on the season, a miss.

After one year at Central Arkansas, Romo transferred to Tulsa. Per NCAA rules (which have since changed), Romo sat out the 2017 season and joined the Tulsa football team as a walk-on for 2018. Romo would once again serve primarily as a kickoff specialist, attempting only five field goals and making just two of them.

After his sophomore season at Tulsa, Romo once again transferred, this time to Virginia Tech, where he spent three seasons. Romo finally became a full-time kicker for the Hokies in his final season, 2021, where he went 34-for-34 on extra point attempts and 18-for-22 on field goals.

Romo was undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. He spent the 2022 season on the Saints’ practice squad, never seeing a regular-season game.

In the spring of 2023, Romo would find himself in the XFL with the San Antonio Brahmas, where he would play in all 10 of their games and make 17 of his 19 field goal attempts. That stint in the XFL earned Romo a tryout with the Detroit Lions. After the tryout, Romo signed with Detroit but was released before the season started.

From there, Romo would land on the Chicago Bears’ practice squad for September before being waived in early October. Now, Romo has landed in Minnesota, where he will finally make his regular-season debut in the league.

It’s been a long road for the journeyman kicker, but he now finds himself on a team that, at least for now, seems destined to make a playoff run. How long Romo will remain the Vikings’ kicker remains to be seen, as we still don’t know the full extent of the Reichard injury, but if Romo can capitalize on his chance, it will make for one heck of a story.

Vikings announce Christian Darrisaw has undergone surgery on his injured knee

On Monday, the team had good news regarding Christian Darrisaw’s prognosis. 

The Minnesota Vikings lost star offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw for the year to a torn ACL and MCL in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams.

On Monday, the team made an announcement about his knee, with some good news regarding his prognosis.

“Christian Darrisaw underwent successful surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament today at Twin Cities Orthopedics in Eagan, Minn. The procedure was led by Vikings Head Team Physician Dr. Chris Larson. The team will continue to provide updates, as appropriate, during Darrisaw’s recovery process.”

The team expects Darrisaw to be ready for the start of the 2025 season. In the meantime, the Vikings acquired Cam Robinson to serve as his replacement. Robinson was an established left tackle with the Jaguars and played this past week against the Colts.

Former Vikings OC Norv Turner comes out of retirement, joins Raiders staff

Norv Turner will come out of retirement to become an offensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired several offensive coaches after Week 9 as the team stands at 2-7 on the season. They have had a rotation of quarterbacks this season and they decided they needed an offensive mind to get things going.

They decided to go deep into the well of great offensive minds and bring one out of retirement.

Norv Turner, former NFL head coach and Vikings offensive coordinator, will come out of retirement to become an offensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media first reported the addition to Antoinio Pierce’s staff.

The move also reunites Turner with his son, Scott Turner, the new offensive coordinator for the Raiders. Scott Turner originally joined the Raiders staff in 2023 as their passing game coordinator.

Norv Turner spent three seasons with the Vikings from 2015 to 2016 before he unexpectedly resigned. As a head coach, Turner is 114-122-1 in games coached in the NFL.

Kevin O’Connell shares details on significant Vikings injuries following win over Colts

The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively healthy through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, but Week 9 changed things.

The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively healthy through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, but Week 9 changed things. The defense had been missing Blake Cashman in their run-defense game, but now the special teams have taken a hit.

Kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola suffered injuries in Week 9 against the Colts.

Coach Kevin O’Connell updated the media regarding Reichard’s leg injury, stating that the team is “still in the process of evaluating.” Long snapper DePaola suffered a hand injury that will require surgery, and the team is discussing whether to place him on short-term injured reserve.

O’Connell did hint that they may need to work out kickers this week if Reichard misses any time. Reichard was perfect on the season kicking field goals and extre points but he missed his first two kicks on Sunday night against the Colts.

Once more information is shared on their injuries, we will be sure to pass those along.

Jordan Addison’s dad has strong reaction to Sam Darnold interception

After throwing an interception early in the Vikings Sunday night game against the Colts, one player’s father had an interesting reaction.

Not much went right for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Sam Darnold.

The offense itself struggled to get going against the Colts defense, and Darnold made several unforced errors, including an interception that drew the ire of none other than the father of Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison.

On Darnold’s first interception of the game, Addison was running a route across the middle of the field and appeared to have an easy catch for a modest gain at the least. Darnold seemingly didn’t see Addison open, and was flushed from the pocket, resulting in an interception in the end zone and a scoring opportunity gone by the wayside.

That sequence of events prompted a reaction on X (formerly Twitter) from Addison’s father, Rolando Addison, Sr., who likened Darnold to famed musician and entertainer—and blind man—Stevie Wonder.

 

While invoking Wonder’s name is objectively hilarious, it illustrates a larger concern: Darnold’s performance has started to decline from the standout performances he turned in to start the season. Lately, Darnold has been making costly errors and missing guys fairly consistently.

His errors didn’t cost the Vikings in their game against the Colts, but the team needs Darnold to clean up if they’re going to make a playoff run, which they looked capable of just a few short weeks ago.