Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings News and Links: 12 Days Until Training Camp!
12 days until the rookies and quarterbacks report!
The Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 training camp will begin with rookies and quarterbacks reporting on July 20th, followed by the rest of the team on July 22nd. The first open practice to the public will be on Saturday, July 26th. Practices will be held at the TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minnesota.
Key Dates:
July 20: Rookies and quarterbacks report.
July 22: Veteran players report.
July 26: First public practice, part of “Back Together Weekend”.
July 28 – August 6: Multiple open practices scheduled.
August 9: First Preseason Game vs Texans
August 11 & 13: Additional open practices, with August 13th being a joint practice with the Patriots.
The Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 training camp Schedule
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2025 NFL offensive line rankings: Eagles, Broncos open the season at the top
7. Minnesota Vikings
Although Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill formed a top-notch tackle duo over the past couple of seasons, the Vikings’ interior held back the unit, and the offense overall.
Minnesota will feature three new starters along the interior in 2025, looking to turn a weakness into a strength. Center Ryan Kelly just turned 32 and is still among the best players at his position when healthy. Right guard Will Fries was on his way to a breakout season in 2024 before an injury ended his year after five games. Rookie Donovan Jackson, whom the Vikings drafted in the first round, completes the pack.
2025 NFL secondary rankings: Ravens and Chiefs take the top spots
27. Minnesota Vikings
This is an aging secondary that benefits from a defensive scheme designed to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Safety Harrison Smith still plays quality football, though his prime years are behind him. Josh Metellus is an average safety but reliable against the run. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. is coming off a career year, but it’s unclear whether he’s finally hitting his stride or if it was a one-year spike in performance. The Vikings added several defensive backs in free agency — Isaiah Rodgers, Tavierre Thomas and Jeff Okudah — but they will likely need the front seven to continue generating heavy pressure for the secondary to succeed.
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Note: The only one over 30 is Smith thus the opening sentence reveals ignorance
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Vikings Predicted to Part With Their ‘Best-Kept Secret’
But, there’s one player who has been called the Vikings “best-kept secret” who they may opt to part with coming up. That could certainly hurt, but a team has to do what a team has to do.
That guy is Jalen Nailor, who Miller notes “has slowly improved his performance over the last three years, but 2025 has become a pivotal one for the 26-year-old receiver.”
“This season will be important for Nailor in many ways, as it could be his last in the purple and white uniforms,” he adds.
So, what’s the state of Nailor’s contract? During an appearance on SKOR North’s “Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd” on Thursday, July 3, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson discussed how Minnesota is dealing with Nailor’s situation right now. He said that they aren’t talking about a contract extension right now, but he will be still be a big part of the upcoming season.
“On Jalen Nailor, there just hasn’t been any dialogue. Not that the Vikings are like ‘we drafted Felton. Guess what? Like Nailor, you are the No. 4 receiver,’” he said. “I think Nailor is going to have some good opportunities this year, but I think the idea is he’ll get paid pretty well elsewhere.”
He added, “Think about Patrick Jones. Good year for the Vikings, gets paid in Carolina. I think with Jalen Nailor, hopefully in his case, Speedy can stay healthy, contribute to the Vikings winning this year, and he ends up elsewhere next March.”
Back in May, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder called Nailor is the Vikings’ “best-kept secret.”
“Nailor quietly proved to be a quality WR3 and fourth option in the passing game last season,” Holder stated on May 19. “If the 2022 sixth-round pick can cut down on the drops–four last season, per PFF–he can carve out an even bigger role in Minnesota this fall.”
Kirk Cousins felt ‘misled’ by Falcons: ‘I had no reason to leave Minnesota’
Kirk Cousins never would’ve left the Minnesota Vikings — even if he knew they were aiming for a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft — had he known the Atlanta Falcons were going to take a quarterback in the draft.
“At the time it felt like I had been a little bit misled or certainly if I had the information around free agency it certainly would’ve affected my decision,” said Cousins, whose feelings were revealed with the release of Quarterback on Netflix.
“I had no reason to leave Minnesota with how much we loved it there, if both teams are going to be drafting a quarterback high. But I’ve also learned in 12 years in this league that you’re not entitled to anything. It’s all about being able to earn your spot and prove yourself.”
It’s long been known that Cousins signed with Atlanta for the long-term extension, whereas he was looking at a year-to-year situation in Minnesota. He reiterated that the year-to-year offer from the Vikings is what made his decision to go to Atlanta rather easy.
“It became clear that we were going to be there year-to-year — and that’s what we didn’t want,” Cousins said. “At that point, we said, ‘Alright, we need to look elsewhere and if that’s our only option, we’ll be back.’ And when we said, ‘Well, we looked around and we found there’s an opportunity that would be a longer commitment, would you be interested in giving us that longer commitment?’ They said, ‘Nope. We’re good with our offer.’ I said, ‘OK, you made my decision really easy.’”
Cousins’ first experience watching the Vikings as an outsider came during the preseason. He compared it to “seeing someone dating the person you used to date.”
“Like, I used to throw to Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson and now someone else is enjoying doing that. That’s interesting,” Cousins joked.
Who would be on the Minnesota Vikings Mt. Rushmore this quarter century?
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/minnesota-vikings-mt-rushmore-quarter-140134317.html
DE Jared Allen
RB Adrian Peterson
S Harrison Smith
DT Kevin Williams
Note: Hard to leave Randy Moss off this list. Does JJ belong?
Minnesota Vikings Latest Valuation is Astonishing
Mark, Zygi, and Leonard Wilf bought the Minnesota Vikings in 2005 from then owner, Red McCombs, for a cool $600 million. Exactly 20 years later, longtime local columnist Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) is reporting that the Vikings are now worth 11x what the Wilfs originally purchased them for.
“No doubt if the Wilf family, which bought the Vikings for $600 million in 2005, put the Vikings on the market today, they would receive a minimum of $8 billion.”
Charley Walters – Pioneer Press
The latest valuation equates to growth of more than 1,130% what the team was purchased for. Of course the Wilf’s aren’t done investing either. The TCO Performance Center and surrounding area at Vikings Lakes continues to be expanded upon and has room for additional opportunity.
NFL executive states the obvious about Minnesota Vikings RB Aaron Jones and it could define his 2025 season
Latest Vikings Rumors: Eye-Popping Trade Idea and 2 Notable Names
Yore “I’m bored and need to think of something to write about” piece
Vikings Blockbuster Trade Idea Flips Jefferson for $115 Million WR, Starting CB, Draft Haul
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports authored a trade pitch on Monday, July 7, which he described as “outlandish” but also contended is the most likely sort of deal in which Minnesota might decide to move the superstar wideout — and to which Jefferson would also agree.
The bones of the deal would see the Vikings move on from Jefferson for Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and his recent $115 million contract, Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II, a future first-round pick from Cincinnati and a future third-round selection from the Detroit Lions.
The Bengals would receive Jefferson from Minnesota and defensive end Julian Okwara from the Browns. Detroit would end up with All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson from Cincinnati, while Cleveland would get a fourth-round pick from Detroit for Newsome, who is entering the fifth-year team option on his rookie deal after the Browns made him a first-round selection in 2021 (No. 26 overall).
Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
- No discussion of politics or religion
- No feeding of the trolls
- Leave the gender hatred at the door
- Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
- Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
- No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
- If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
- While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm
A 19-year-old man is accused of driving a stolen car and crashing into a Minnesota State Patrol squad car in Minneapolis Friday evening, injuring three people, including a trooper.
Officials say the incident started around 10:30 p.m. in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. The criminal complaint says Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a stolen red Hyundai and were following it when the driver of the car started to flee and drive recklessly.
The Hyundai entered Minneapolis and the deputies turned off their lights and stopped pursuing the car, the charges say. The car drove through Aldrich Avenue and 46th Street at approximately 80 mph, blowing through a stop sign before crashing into the side of a state patrol vehicle.
The 19-year-old, who was driving the Hyundai, fled on foot but was apprehended a short time later, the complaint says.
The trooper was hospitalized with a fractured right fibula and a fractured left scapula, court documents say. The two passengers in the Hyundai were also both taken to the hospital; one had a compound neck fracture and brain bleed, while the other had neck pain, the complaint says.
According to the charges, the teenager told police in a post-Miranda statement that it’s fun to drive around in stolen vehicles.
He faces three counts of criminal vehicular operation, one count of receiving stolen property and one count of fleeing a peace officer.
The outer edges of the Twin Cities are booming with new places to live.
So far this decade, the Twin Cities metro has, on average, added about 17,000 housing units per year, according to data from the Metropolitan Council. That includes homes, condos and apartments.
If you go by total housing units added, at the top of the list is Lakeville, a city growing so fast it put a pause on accepting new building permits. It has added 4,861 units from 2020 to 2025.
It’s followed in order by Woodbury (4,271 units), Maple Grove (3,599 units), Rosemount (3,186 units), Cottage Grove (2,279 units) and Blaine (2,677).
“Those suburban edge communities have the land supply, and they have the infrastructure, and the connection to the metro,” Todd Graham, the Metropolitan Council’s principal forecaster, explained.
Space to add homes and infrastructure to handle the growth, all while staying within the metro bubble, is why developers are targeting those communities.
Cottage Grove has been adding about 287 homes a year this decade, but the mayor tells us of a new trend.
“What’s changing is we are seeing additional multifamily apartments, higher density,” said Myron Bailey. “And then we’re putting a little bit more focus on some affordability options, especially around our business park.”
Which suburbs will grow the most in the future?
If you go by population, Blaine and Maple Grove are forecasted to add about 20,000 people each from 2020 to 2050.
But if you go by percentage, two communities stand out. Corcoran in Hennepin County is expected to more than triple its population from 6,185 in 2020 to 19,600 in 2050. Carver in Carver County will see its population nearly triple from 5,241 in 2020 to 14,900 in 2050.
“We’re planning for it in the City of Carver. We have a long-term financial plan, we have a strategic plan, we have a comprehensive plan,” said Carver Mayor Courtney Johnson.
For example, new builds will push the limits of Carver’s current water treatment plant sometime in the next decade.
“We are already thinking about where and how we’re going to build a new one to expand our capacity to bring fresh water into homes,” she said.
Cottage Grove is building a second water tower right now on the west side of Highway 61, with plans for a third in the future. The city also has ample space to add homes and businesses.
Carver, meanwhile, has a smaller footprint, but it has an agreement in place with the neighboring Dahlgren township.
“When the landowners in that community are approached by developers for homes or commercial, they would then become part of the City of Carver, and then our boundary area would expand,” said Johnson.
Corcoran’s boundaries are the opposite of Carver’s. The town covers just under 36 square miles, making its land size similar to Maple Grove and Plymouth. Most of it still consists of farmland, prairies and wooded areas with home developments spread throughout.
A spokesperson for Corcoran told WCCO that new developments will be focused on the eastern third of the city, where growth can be best supported. That includes a new water tower and water treatment plant in the city’s northeast district.
With more neighborhoods and people come a need for more entertainment, dining and shopping. Bailey said that’s becoming apparent in his community.
“The biggest complaint that I get is we don’t have enough restaurants or retail in our community. So, that’s been frankly one of the things that I’ve been trying to work on,” said Bailey.
One element of growth that is particularly challenging for smaller towns is maintaining their small-town image. Johnson said much of Carver’s development is happening on their western edge, where farmland is plentiful. The downtown area near the Minnesota River, however, will keep its historic charm.
“We have one of the largest contiguous areas on the National Register of Historic Places. That’s never going to change, and we’re working really hard to maintain that area and promote our historic downtown,” she said.
Corcoran is taking a similar approach, balancing the need for growth while preserving the city’s existing character. Being a rural community is part of the city’s identity, meaning growth will have to happen in a “thoughtful and intentional way.”
Closer to the heart of the metro, cities like Edina and Bloomington are projected to add thousands of households over the next several decades. There’s very little space to build new subdivisions and homes, but that’s not where the growth is expected to happen.
“They identify that they have land supply available for transition to either high-density apartments or mixed-use neighborhoods,” said Graham.
That includes rezoning land initially developed for commercial property to allow for apartments and condos.
“In the Southdale area, you’ve seen that there are apartment buildings going up and there are plans for more of that,” Graham said.
To see how your community in the Twin Cities is projected to grow by the year 2050, click here.
Minnesota
Several vehicles damages by large rocks, oil thrown off I-35 bridge near Rush City, sheriff says
Law enforcement in an east-central Minnesota community is asking for the public’s help to find those responsible for throwing large rocks and vehicle oil off an Interstate 35 overpass.
The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office said there have been multiple reports in the past week of vehicles being struck by objects dropped from the bridge by 530th Street near Rush City, about 60 miles northeast of the Twin Cities metro area.
On Sunday night just after 10 p.m., authorities say someone “threw numerous large rocks and a significant amount of oil onto passing vehicles and the roadway itself,” resulting in “multiple vehicles being damaged.”
The sheriff’s office says the Minnesota State Patrol is assisting in the investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call 651-257-4100.
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