Vikings

Trae Waynes, Melvin Gordon Bonded Over Silencing the Doubters

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

After forging a friendship in middle school in Kenosha, Wisc., Trae Waynes and Melvin Gordon have been on the same career trajectory.

Both played college ball in the Big Ten.

Both were drafted in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Both are playing out their fifth professional seasons before hitting unrestricted free agency in March.

Heck, both belong to franchises that have changed stadiums in the last five years.

But when Waynes and Gordon get together — sometimes for an offseason fishing trip on Lake Minnetonka or back home in Wisconsin to host an annual football camp — the talks rarely focus on the sport that’s given them so much common ground over the past 15 years.

“We don’t really talk about too much football when we talk,” Waynes told Zone Coverage. “We’ve been friends for a long time. It goes beyond football. When we talk it’s more about just, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ We’re [BSing], we ain’t really talking so much about football and reminiscing.”

While football may not be the crux of their conversations nowadays, it was certainly the source of their friendship.

“When we met, we were both — I don’t really want to say underdogs — but overlooked,” Waynes said. “We met in middle school and we were both playing football and stuff, and I remember vividly, one of the things him telling me is, ‘No one thinks I can play running back. No one believes I can play running back.’ My thing was like, ‘Well s—, everybody thinks I’m too small.’

“So we both kind of had that adversity starting out while playing football because he was newer to the scene and nobody believed in what he could really do. And on my end, nobody thought I could do it because I was small, so we had that connection. We both had the same goals to make it to where we wanted to be in life.”

Getting selected within the first 15 picks of the 2015 draft put to rest many of those doubts. It’s believable, though, that Waynes would happily remind Gordon he was taken four picks higher.

Videos showing the two of them before the draft reveal their constant banter — sometimes exchanging barbs over who would win if Gordon was carrying the ball into Waynes’ space on the football field.

Three weeks into their NFL careers, that scenario had a chance to play out when the Chargers came to play the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. Xavier Rhodes went down with an injury in the first half, opening the door for Waynes’ first career appearance on defense. He played 41 snaps that game, but Gordon never ran the ball his way. Minnesota handled San Diego 31-14.

Sunday’s tilt in Los Angeles is their first regular season meeting since. In the time that’s passed, Waynes has become a full-time starter, Gordon a 1,000-yard rusher.

The meeting could be Gordon and Waynes’ last on their present teams. Both are likely to seek high-end salaries at their respective positions, while their franchises face difficult decisions. The cap-strapped Vikings have two other unrestricted free agents in the secondary between Anthony Harris and Mackensie Alexander, while the Chargers will have to weigh Gordon’s production against the more affordable Austin Ekeler’s.

It’s undetermined whether the two friends will rendezvous Saturday night once the Vikings arrive in Los Angeles.

“L.A. traffic is terrible,” said Waynes.

Thielen Returns

After missing all or part of seven consecutive games, injured wide receiver Adam Thielen appears set for a return on Sunday. After sitting out of practice all of the previous week, Thielen was a participant each of the last three days and did not receive an injury designation despite being listed as limited in practice.

The Vikings went 5-2 in the seven games affected by Thielen’s injury, the first time in his career Minnesota’s star receiver has missed significant playing time.

“I’ve learned a lot from the process,” Thielen said Thursday. “I think for me the main thing has just been focusing on every day, trying to do what I have to do to get back on the field and be out there with my teammates and helping them win games. In the meantime when I couldn’t play, just try to do whatever I could to help out the young guys or to be any type of resource for anybody. I don’t know if I did a great job, but I was trying my best every day. Like I said, I’ve learned a lot from the process, and it definitely will help me moving forward.”

While sidelined, Thielen has gotten a chance to watch Stefon Diggs become the passing game’s focal point despite receiving extra attention from secondaries. Diggs is three yards shy of his second straight 1,000-yard season.

“Probably the best I’ve ever seen him play,” said Thielen. “Just his mentality, the way that he’s handled himself, I thought, as he’s grown a lot as a player, and I think he’s just playing at a high level right now. And you see that he’s getting a lot of coverage and a lot of looks and a lot of attention, obviously, and he’s still able to get open and make plays and things like that.”

In other injury news, safety Jayron Kearse (toe) and running back Alexander Mattison (ankle) were ruled out of Sunday’s game. Head coach Mike Zimmer said that Mike Boone will replace Mattison as the backup to Dalvin Cook.

ALSO READ: Alexander Mattison is Putting His Hurdling Background to Good Use

Vikings
Harrison Smith Has Become Minnesota’s Lone Survivor
By Kaleb Medhanie - Mar 27, 2024
Vikings
Andrew Van Ginkel Brings Versatility and Energy To Minnesota’s Defense
By Matt Fries - Mar 27, 2024
Vikings

Malik Mustapha Is the Perfect Mid-Rounder To Bolster Minnesota's Safety Depth

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings have done a good job of patching holes in their defense this offseason. The additions of Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman […]

Continue Reading