VikingsTerritory Breakdown - A Minnesota Vikings Radio Show

The Vikings first traded defensive lineman Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets for some draft capital, then traded QB Sam Howell to the Philadelphia Eagles for more picks, signed Carson Wentz to take Howell’s spot in the quarterback room and then shipped CB Mekhi Blackmon off to Indianapolis to play for the Colts for yet another draft pick next offseason.

The spotlight remains on the QB position and in particular the Vikings second-year signal caller J.J. McCarthy (who didn’t play in the preseason game), and he did not disappoint this week in practice. The first joint practice for JJ was up and down but the second one featured a period during which he completed 13 consecutive passes and threw four TD passes—plenty to get Purple Nation excited for the coming NFL regular season.

Brosmer completed five of eight passes for 47 yards and a touchdown, compiling a rating of 118.2 against many of the Houston Texans’ reserves

The preseason got serious this week, as the Minnesota Vikings held their annual night practice (which used to be a scrimmage) on Monday to prepare for their first exhibition against the Houston Texans on Saturday, August 9. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was announced as the starter in the Texans game, was featured in the night practice, where are all the anxious eyes of Purple Nation were focused

The injury has been called a mild strain, and the Vikings are taking no chances. But that means it opens up opportunities for a young and eager wide receiver group to take advantage of the additional reps in practice. And when you consider that wideout Jordan Addison will be watching from the sidelines as the season begins (due to an off-field incident that will likely result in a suspension by the league), players such as Jalen Nailor and rookie Tai Felton have a chance to shine.

The Vikings returned to TCO Performance Center for the 2025 Training Camp this week, and, thus far, it is mostly good news coming out of Eagan, Minn. Where many feared the Vikings’ offensive line would be missing two players fans are counting on this season, both veteran left tackle Christan Darrisaw and recent free agent addition right Matt Fries will not start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Fries will be ready to go at camp, while the team will bring back Darrisaw slowly from his major knee injury—but he is expected to be ready to go for week one.

There is a little news trickling out of TCO Performance Center, such as the fact that Swiss Army knife-like defender Josh Metellus is still not signed and wide receiver Jordan Addison had a court date this week. Hopefully there will be resolution on both accounts, and everyone will report to Eagan on time for camp.

Training camp is coming—and it could be one of most consequential in Minnesota Vikings history. The powers that be (general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell) have spent the offseason upgrading the roster to put the best team possible around second year pro (and first year starter) quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

It’s July in Minnesota, where it has been alternately rainy and blistering hot—which always make for some sweltering Vikings football practices. But the Vikings aren’t in camp—in fact they aren’t even in that summer furnace of Mankato (as in days gone by), either. There are a couple more weeks before camp begins in Eagan, and the roster change speculation persists amidst Viking Nation.

And so we shall, first with a recap of what we learned at minicamp. Who shined, who rusted and, most importantly, how did starting quarterback JJ McCarthy do? Once again, there are some undrafted rookies to talk about (particularly this year, as the Vikings only had five draft picks), so those names are worth a look as the camp nears and ultimately, the roster begins to be trimmed.

It all begins in earnest. The Vikings mandatory minicamp commenced at TCO Performance Center this week, and the news is already spilling out regarding who is there and who is there but not practicing. Thus far, the Vikings have good numbers in attendance, including left tackle Christian Darrisaw (who injured his knee last season) taking part in individual drills. Certainly, TE Josh Oliver is there, as he inked a contract extension and becomes an important cog in the development of the Purple’s young quarterback.

NFL organized team activities (yes, that’s what OTA stands for—not offseason training actions—which they are—or over-technical assessments—which may happen--or overtly tubular algorithms—which won’t, since we don’t think they are a thing) began this week. The Vikings players assembled at TCO Performance to reacquaint with each other and get to know the new faces while trying to orient to the Purple way of life.

Minnesota was the epicenter of the NFL this week! Why? Did the Vikings win the Super Bowl or secure the first overall pick of the next NFL Draft? No, neither of those things happened. Rather, Minneapolis hosted the NFL Meetings this week in which the owners voted on a few issues.

The state of Minnesota experienced temperatures north of 90 degrees this past week, so that must mean it is the dead days of August and training camp begins, right? Well, not exactly. It is May and has been unseasonably warm and the Vikings have assembled—but it’s just the rookies and their minicamp at TCO Performance Center. Still, the new football year has begun. We haven’t had too many headlines yet as the Rookie Minicamp is just a way for the newbies to come to town, meet their prospective teammates and Vikings staff and get oriented to the way Minnesota does things. There are a few tidbits that have surfaced—such as undrafted rookie CB Zemaiah Vaughn picking off undrafted QB Max Brosmer along the sidelines and rookie linebacker Kobe King making another pick. But we aren’t yet hanging any banners nor making any proclamations about who will be Mr. Eagan (nee Mankato). Still, we will talk about it. The fellas at Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—are here to report from minicamp with stories of who stepped up, who stood out or who said something interesting (or, perhaps, out of the ordinary). Plus, we’ll cover all the latest news of the Purple. Tune into the podcast and catch it all. Skol!

The NFL sent an email explaining that the schedule release is “almost here!” Not that it was released, but that it is almost released. (It’s almost like the email saying the Draft was almost here.) You can register and “be the first to know when the 2025-26 schedule drops.” Well, this NFL observer is all atwitter.

With an eye toward protecting their sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings put a major emphasis on the offensive line during free agency (Matt Fries and Ryab Kelly) and continued that with the Jackson pick. There will likely be a competition at left guard, but the versatile and intelligent Jackson could step in and start and solidify a formerly middling line.

But the NFL Draft is a crapshoot. A first overall pick can get the call from the Hall (Peyton Manning, 1998) or flame out in epic fashion (JaMarcus Russell, 2007). Then again, Tom Brady can go in the sixth round and become the best QB ever to play, or Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant in 2022, can take a team to the Super Bowl and have folk rethinking that moniker for the last person taken in the draft.

Will the Vikings, who have only four picks (plus a compensatory pick) in the draft stay put at 24 and select a player who can impact the 2025 season, or will they trade down, as been general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah’s MO in the past, and acquire more picks to fill out the draft class.

One of the most persistent Purple queries this offseason is who will start at QB and who will be his backup.

The Vikings have other needs that they could address in free agency (or in the NFL Draft), but what are those needs and who is left to grab? The fellas at Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—are on hand to dissect and discuss all that. In addition, they will take on some of the new rule change proposals proffered at the NFL Winter meetings. Some good news and some bad news there—so tune in and check it out. Skol!