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
…
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.
…
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
Police are investigating after a man was arrested and another was injured in a shooting in Oakdale, Minnesota, on Thursday, according to officials.
Officers responded to a home on the 700 block of Gershwin Avenue around 10:24 p.m. for a report of an individual suffering from a gunshot wound. Police at the scene said they found a 32-year-old man who had been shot in the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Witnesses, according to police, said the injured man was standing near a bonfire in the backyard of the residence when he was hit by gunfire.
The officers weren’t able to find any suspects after they set up a perimeter and searched the area with help from several other law enforcement agencies.
Officials said police on Friday night arrested a 64-year-old Oakdale man in connection with Thursday’s shooting. Oakdale Police Chief Nick Newton said he was booked and later released.
Neighbors along a three-block stretch in St Louis Park, Minnesota, say vandals smashed car windows early Sunday morning along Quentin Avenue.
A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis Park said officers took 18 reports of vehicle tampering and stolen property around 5 in the morning. The city wouldn’t confirm how many cars were hit, but said the investigation is ongoing.
“I was just pulling out and I had to swerve and avoid all the glass on the street because most cars on this block had their windows smashed,” said Nachshown Fertel.
While Fertel’s car wasn’t damaged, a car parked across the street was smashed across the windshield. Two others were missing windows.
“Obviously, it’s expensive to repair and we don’t know who did it,” Fertel said. “We all have Ring cameras, but since most of them were on the street, only a few people caught glimpses of it.”
Two blocks away, WCCO talked to a man with four damaged cars sitting outside his home. He said all the windows on his family cars were smashed early in the morning, but no one got away with anything valuable. He called the whole ordeal upsetting.
Aharon Harkavy spent part of Sunday cleaning up shattered glass in his driveway. He said neighbors have had issues with stolen cars and some break-ins in the past, but this string of damage felt like an escalation.
“This needs to stop, the police need to really do something about it,” he said.
Back in May, Minneapolis police were investigating a string of break-ins on the southwest side of the city. That followed 30 cars hit by vandals in April over an 8-hour span. Last summer in Minneapolis, there were roughly 475 vehicle break-ins in 30 days between July and August.
Fertel said many of his neighbors in St. Louis Park attend the same synagogue and the community came together to help with repairs.
“I went over to the rabbi and I said, ‘Can we start a fund?’” Fertel explained. “I got a few people to donate. We pulled together some funds to help people pay for the damage.”
Yesterday, Americans attended barbecues, tore around on jet skis, and partied under fireworks for the country’s 250th birthday. Or, they took their sister’s Goldendoodle on 12 miles worth of walks, then got takeout supper and continued a Star Trek: The Original Series re-watch (& checked in on the Rocky & Twilight Zone marathons). Freedom, and all that.
But as was once said about President Ronald Reagan, it’s a new morning in America. What would the sunrise bring for MN? Well, how about 250 years of Minnesota Twins dominance over the New York Yankees!
After boat-racing the Yanks yesterday, the Twins got off to a fast start in this contest too when New York SP Ryan Weathers’ first offering was slapped into RF by Austin Martin for a double. This was quickly followed by a newly-minted-All-Star Byron Buxton single and it looked like MN would never make an out against NYY again—until Kody Clemens K’d and Buck was caught stealing for the first time since 5/1/24. Ugh. You also won’t hear Buxton’s name again in this recap until the Duds (double ugh).
Fortunately, Josh “Liberty” Bell saved the rally with a ringing (heh, heh) single that NY RF Max Schuemann couldn’t quite reel in. 1-0 MN.
As also-newly-minted-All-Star SP Joe Ryan looked sharp foiling Yankee bats in the early goings, the Twins went back on the attack in T4: a Royce Lewis walk led to his advance to 2B on a wild pitch which led to his coming around to score on a Brooks Lee base knock. 2-0 MN.
Right back on the attack in T5: the Twins loaded the bases with two outs and Lewis didn’t fall into the trap—instead knocking a solid single up the middle to drive two visitors across home plate! 4-0 MN.
Then, some circus baseball in T6: an Anthony Volpe error at shortstop…a horrible Luke Keaschall bunt that someone resulted in a hit…a bases-loaded walk to Martin…a well-struck Clemens sac fly. Boo birds were echoing through Yankee Stadium 3.0. 6-0 MN.
Meanwhile, the reason no Yankee offense has been discussed heretofore is because Ryan continued his Bronx brilliance. New York put a couple runners on base with two outs in B7, but our oh-so-much-more-than-average Joe made Amed Rosario look foolish on a filthy slider for this final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K.
Andrew Morris hurled a crisp, clean 8th inning, followed by Yoendrys Gomez losing the battle (shutout effort) but winning the war (ballgame) in the 9th.
Your Final: Minnesota Twins 6, New York Yankees 1
The Twins exorcised some demons by winning road series against the Astros & Yankees (the latter of those the first time since 2014). A new morning, indeed! Time for Goldendoodle walk number two on the day—with a smile on my face all the way.
-
Florida3 minutes agoDeadly July 4th shooting arrest; South Florida man accused of Miami stabbing attack
-
Georgia6 minutes agoPoll shows Georgia Democrats ahead in senate, gubernatorial races
-
Hawaii11 minutes ago$5 deal for National Fried Chicken Day
-
Idaho18 minutes ago
An Idaho mother who said her toddler twins died after vaccinations has been charged with murder
-
Illinois21 minutes agoSevered arm in Illinois lake: Court records say body parts found in freezer, half-brother claimed self-defense
-
Indiana26 minutes agoIndiana Black Expo to present award to Mathew Knowles for health advocacy
-
Iowa33 minutes agoIowa Democrats and Republicans gain voters, independent voters decrease
-
Kansas36 minutes agoVeterans Community Project opens expanded outreach center in Kansas City, expands nationally
