Category: Minnesota Vikings

Vikings organization gets glowing reviews in 2024 NFLPA report card

For the second year in a row, the Minnesota Vikings are one of the top organizations in the NFL according to an annual survey from the NFLPA

For the second year in a row, the NFLPA has released their annual report card evaluating each team in the league. This report card aims to evaluate every team in the league on how they are viewed across the league by the players who play for them.

Each year, the NFLPA sends out surveys to every player in the league, and their answers are recorded anonymously to produce the report cards. Each team is ranked 1-32 based on answers in 11 different categories, such as how players feel about the head coach, owner, training staff, food, etc.

For the second year in a row, the Minnesota Vikings are one of the league’s standout organizations. Across the survey’s 11 categories, the Vikings were ranked either first or second in eight of them. Of the three the Vikings fell outside the top 2, they ranked no lower than 9th.

According to the players, the Vikings were the top team in terms of their treatment of players’ families, the nutritionist/dietician on staff, the locker room environment, and their strength and conditioning coaches. Minnesota came in second regarding their training room, team travel accommodations, the head coach, and the team’s ownership.

The Vikings’ two worst scores were for their training staff (9th in the league) and their weight room (8th in the league).

The survey goes on to break each category down further, giving examples of what players said about each category to earn the rankings. The Vikings were singled out for their family room at the stadium and for providing daycare for players’ children on gameday.

On the low end, only 88% of players felt they received enough one-on-one treatment from the training staff, and felt that the staff only moderately contributed to their success.

Regarding head coach Kevin O’Connell, 98% of the players believed that O’Connell is efficient with their time, and the players stated that O’Connell is “very willing to listen to the locker room”.

All this paints a picture of an organization that is doing things the right way, and has built an environment that players want to be a part of. That’s clear in players like Aaron Jones wanting to come to the Vikings after spending his entire career with division rival Green Bay.

Only the Miami Dolphins got a better overall score from the players than the Vikings.

Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer reunite ahead of Week 9 matchup

The former duo were back in action on Sunday.

Current Dallas’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and current Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins were set to face each other this past Sunday in Atlanta. Zimmer was Cousins’ coach from 2018-2021, and they enjoyed a four-year stint together before the team moved on from Zimmer for a young mind like Kevin O’Connell.

The pair was seen talking to one another prior to the game, likely reminiscing about the good times they had in Minnesota.

But Cousins got the better end of Zimmer and Dallas on Sunday. The Falcons took down the Cowboys, 27-21. Dallas moved to 3-5 on the year, while Cousins has Atlanta humming along at 6-3. Zimmer’s former starting quarterback threw for 222 yards and three scores against his Cowboys’ defense.

The Vikings will get a chance to face Cousins on Dec. 8 when Atlanta travels to Minnesota for what will likely be a big contest.

 

Oregon honors late Duck, Viking Khyree Jackson with unique challenge

The Oregon Ducks have an annual tribute to remember their fallen teammates, including Khyree Jackson.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback and 2024 fourth-round pick Khyree Jackson tragically passed away in July. He was 24 years old and was involved in an auto accident.

Jackson was a star defender for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks. Lanning and Oregon have made it a tradition to remember their fallen brothers by doing a unique task.

Since the passing of former Oregon tight end Spencer Webb, who tragically fell and died in a hiking accident in 2022, Lanning has been taking his team to Spencer Bute, which has an elevation of more than 2,000 feet and a trail of more than a mile and a half.

Every member of the Oregon team hikes to the top of the mountain to remember their fallen brothers. Coach Lanning tells his team to remember those that can’t be here with them today and on their way down he wants his team to think about what they can do to help somebody in need.

Jordan Addison makes spectacular catch for Vikings against the Colts

Minnesota got itself on the board in the second half of Sunday Night Football.

Minnesota went into halftime down 7-0 against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football. It wasn’t due to not being able to move the football, however. The Vikings did essentially what they wanted offensively but drives would stall. Sam Darnold threw an intersection inside the Colts’ red zone, then he had a controversial fumble returned for a score — Colts’ only points of the game.

But the first drive of the second half was a beauty. Darnd found Justin Jefferson several times, Aaron Jones had a couple of runs, and Darnold finished things off by finding Jordan Addison in the end zone for a score. Darnold was under pressure but gave Addison a chance, and the former USC receiver reeled it in with a one-hand snag.

Minnesota tied the game at 7-7, and the Vikings’ defense will have to continue to do its job to allow the Minnesota offense to continue rolling.

Vikings kicker Will Reichard finally missed a kick: Here’s what it means

Rookie kicker Will Reichard missed his first kick on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts, meaning he’ll finally get a haircut.

Not much went right for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of their Sunday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts. The interior offensive line has been getting blown up all game, leading to a ton of pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold has not handled that pressure well, getting sacked three times in the first half, and getting pressured several more times. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble and a scoop-and-score for the Colts defense. Darnold also threw an interception early to compound the issues the Vikings are having early.

One consistent for the Vikings this season has been rookie kicker Will Reichard. Reichard was perfect on the season coming into the game, making his first 14 field goals of the season, including four kicks of 50+ yards. Reichard was also perfect on his extra points on the season, making his first 20 in a row.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, their fans, and Reichard’s hair, “was” is the operative term in that last paragraph. Reichard missed his first field goal of the season Sunday night against the Colts, missing a 53-yard kick in the second quarter and bringing his streak to an end.

Reichard’s special teams coach, Matt Daniels, mentioned earlier this season that Reichard was not cutting his hair until he missed a kick. That means Reichard is going to have a new look when he shows up to practice next week.

To make matters worse for the rookie kicker, Reichard missed a second kick to close out the first half, this one from considerably closer, as he doinked a 31-yard field goal off the upright. Missing multiple kicks in a game is not something Reichard is used to, as he only had three games at Alabama with multiple missed kicks in his five seasons in Tuscaloosa.

If it can go wrong for the Vikings, it has in the first half.

Vikings are on the wrong side of another controversial call

On Sunday night, Sam Darnold was on the wrong end of another bad call, this time against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Vikings, Sam Darnold, and NFL officiating are clearly not on the same page when it comes to controversial calls. If it wasn’t bad enough last Thursday night when the officials missed a facemask call on Byron Young that resulted in a game-ending safety — he was later fined by the league. There was yet another bad call on Sunday night against the Colts.

Darnold was strip-sacked and Indianapolis returned it for a touchdown — yet it shouldn’t have counted. Grover Stewart grabbed Darnold high and made contact with his face and slammed him to the ground which made the official throw a flag. But he quickly picked it up and said it was a legal play.

As you can imagine, Kevin O’Connell was not happy. He had a meeting with three refs on the sideline to figure out why the flag was picked up. But there was nothing that could be done by then.

Darnold now has two turnovers for the Vikings. He threw a terrible interception when Minnesota was driving inside the Colts’ red zone and then the fumble later on.

Rams’ Byron Young fined for controversial no-call against Vikings in Week 8

The latest salt in the wound for Vikings fans came in the form of Rams defensive lineman Byron Young being fined by the NFL.

Week 8 of the 2024 NFL Season will stick in the minds of Vikings fans through the rest of the year and beyond. For a franchise that has seen so many bad turns of luck of the years, it was just another reminder of what it means to be a Vikings fan.

The latest salt in the wound for Vikings fans came in the form of Rams defensive lineman Byron Young being fined by the NFL.

The play that resulted in Young getting the fine was the controversial no-call by the officiating crew on a critical drive for the team. The play involved a sack that had a clear facemask penalty involved, but the no-call meant the Vikings suffered a safety rather than a 15-yard penalty.

The Vikings would drop to 5-2 on the year and are now focused on snapping their skid. They will make that attempt on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts in front of a national audience.

Vikings activate Dalton Risner ahead of Week 9 matchup with Colts

The Minnesota Vikings made the roster decision to activate guard Dalton Risner from injured reserve.

The Minnesota Vikings made the roster decision to activate guard Dalton Risner from injured reserve. The move comes with Monday’s deadline looming before they would lose him for the season.

The team reported the move, as well as defensive tackle Taki Taimani’s corresponding placement on injured reserve for a minimum of four weeks.

For Risner, the move comes at a critical time for the interior of the Vikings offensive line. Guard Blake Brandel has shown he can be a starter for this group and reliable. Opposite him is Ed Ingram, who has been very hot and cold this year. Some have speculated that Risner could replace Ingram with the starters sooner rather than later, especially being activated before their matchup with the Colts when it could have waited for Monday.

The Vikings will hope that whether Risner plays or not on Sunday night that the offense looks the way it did the first five weeks.

Vikings offensive line tumbles in latest PFF power rankings

In the wake of a Christian Darrisaw injury and trade for Cam Robinson, the Minnesota Vikings offensive line tumbled in PFF’s power rankings.

Most media outlets these days put out power rankings after each week, evaluating how each team fared in the previous week’s matchup, and how they compare to their peers. It’s an easy way to churn out content, and a great conversation starter.

The folks at PFF; however, go a little further with power rankings than most. Not only do their weekly overall team rankings have more data than most other outlets to give you a better concept of why teams are moving up or down, but they also churn out power rankings for individual units on each team, giving a more granular look at the weekly picture.

One of those unit power rankings that PFF puts out is ranking each team’s offensive line each week. This week, the results aren’t kind to the Minnesota Vikings — and understandably so. Losing Christian Darrisaw– playing at a Pro Bowl level before the injury- is a huge blow to the team, and it makes sense that the Vikings would tumble as a result.

And tumble they did! The team’s offensive line fell six spots in this week’s rankings from PFF. That puts the Vikings in the bottom third of the league at #22, down from their #16 spot last week. That ranking may change next week, as Christian Darrisaw’s replacement, Cam Robinson, gets acclimated to the team and gets inserted into the starting lineup. For this week, however, PFF is projecting David Quessenberry getting the start in Darrisaw’s absence.

As the Vikings try to recover from their two-game skid, the offensive line is going to play a big part in just how well the team performs from here on out. Where quarterback Sam Darnold once could feel confident his blindside was protected, now there’s a lot of uncertainty — which is not good for a quarterback who has struggled the past two weeks, and has a pretty lengthy history of struggling when the pressure is on.

If there is a bright side, it’s that despite the tumble in offensive line rankings, and in spite of the two-game slide, the Vikings are still in the top 10 of PFF’s overall power rankings.

Jaguars to pay $7 million of Cam Robinson’s remaining contract in trade deal

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the hook for $7 million of Cam Robinson’s remaining contract after their trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Vikings addressed a glaring need on the team by filling the void left by injured left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Darrisaw was lost for the season with a torn ACL and MCL suffered at the end of the first half of last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings’ solution to their sudden need for an offensive lineman was to reach out the the Jacksonville Jaguars and pull off a trade for their left tackle Cam Robinson. Robinson had spent the past seven and a half seasons in Jacksonville after the team took him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Despite sticking around in Jacksonville for over seven years, it hasn’t been a smooth ride for the tackle, and he’s looking to get a fresh start with the Vikings. In order to facilitate that new start, it was revealed on Wednesday that the Jaguars will be paying $7 million of the nearly $10 million remaining on Robinson’s contract, according to ESPN NFL analyst Field Yates.

That means the Vikings will only be on the hook for a base salary of $2 million and a bonus of nearly $59,000 for each game Robinson is active for the Vikings for the remainder of the season. While Robinson may not be active on Sunday as he gets acclimated to his new team and the new system, he’ll likely be active for the remainder of the season—as long as he stays healthy and produces.

The Vikings have other options along the offensive line, and head coach Kevin O’Connell has hammered home the idea of putting together the “five best offensive linemen”, so if Robinson doesn’t pan out, it wouldn’t be a shock to see O’Connell shake things up. Current left guard Blake Brandel has experience at tackle, and guard Dalton Risner is expected back, which could lead to Brandel shifting outside if Robinson can’t go or struggles.

Regardless of how well the trade winds up working out for Robinson and the Vikings, only giving up a Day 3 pick in 2026 and getting the Jaguars to pay the majority of Robinson’s remaining salary is worth taking a chance in light of Darrisaw’s injury.