Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will address the media on Monday afternoon before training camp. Usually, these press conferences are full of coachspeak and the kind of optimism reserved for a baseball team at the start of Spring Training. However, the lights in this press conference will be like two glowing suns as the team leaders discuss some of the Minnesota Vikings’ biggest storylines.
How is the team recovering from Khyree Jackson’s death?
What are you going to do regarding Jordan Addison’s DUI?
What’s the plan for J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold?
These are just some of the questions that reporters will ask, and we haven’t even gotten to perennial queries like, Can he play guard? As loud as the start of training camp will be, Minnesota’s primary objective should be obvious.
They need to kill the noise.
The Vikings have endured the loudest offseason possible. Kirk Cousins’ contract loomed over the franchise. Once he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, all eyes turned to replacing him, first with Darnold’s signing and then drafting McCarthy.
Another contract situation dominated OTAs as they negotiated a new deal with Justin Jefferson. NFL insiders and TikTok creators tried to will a trade into existence. However, the static finally cleared once Jefferson signed a contract that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
The time between the end of minicamp and training camp is reserved for everyone to take a deep breath, but that wasn’t the case. Jackson’s tragic death in a car accident on July 6 was suspected to have alcohol involved. Six days later, police arrested Addison for driving under the influence in Los Angeles.
As a result, reporters will grill Minnesota’s brain trust like a hot dog on Independence Day, leaving every answer to be analyzed to the nth degree. However, it must also serve a purpose and set the tone for training camp.
Considering some of the more recent camps in Vikings history, it’s pivotal that they immediately turn down the decibels. Last year, Cousins, Jefferson, and T.J. Hockenson‘s contract situations loomed over the summer. The Vikings lost four of their first five games, and their season was effectively over even before Jefferson and Cousins suffered injuries.
In 2021, Zimmer openly ripped his team because some players refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. After Zimmer praised Jake Browning in an epic rant in training camp, the Vikings started 1-3 before finishing with an 8-9 record.
Offensive line coach Tony Sparano died shortly before the start of training camp in 2018, and things never got right offensively. Zimmer and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo clashed constantly, and the Vikings finished with an 8-7-1 record and missed the playoffs.
Things looked good for most of the 2016 training camp until Teddy Bridgewater’s gruesome knee injury created chaos. The Vikings traded for Sam Bradford and started 5-0. However, they stumbled down the stretch and finished the year with an 8-8 record.
You could look at each of the seasons above and point out something that went wrong during the season like Norv Turner quitting in Chicago or Everson Griffen’s arrest early in 2018.
The good news for the Vikings is that, while some of the previous camps were troubled by circumstances beyond their control, they have some say in how 2024’s training camp could play out.
The first storyline will be what the Vikings decide to do with Addison. His case is tricky because of California’s DUI laws, which include drinking and driving while high. Any potential punishment (or lack thereof) will have a residual effect on the team.
While the NFL could wait to suspend until the legal matter is resolved, teammates such as Josh Metellus and Jonathan Greenard have already come out in support of Addison, which could suggest the issue isn’t as big in the locker room as it is in the front office. But the Vikings could also suspend Addison, sending a shockwave throughout the organization.
From there, it depends on what happens at quarterback. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that the Vikings have more faith in Darnold than the casual football fan has after watching him flounder with three different teams. However, if Darnold has a good camp, it will be enough to bury the quarterback question until McCarthy shows he’s ready to play.
McCarthy will also have to improve on what we’ve seen so far. Hockenson voiced his support for his new quarterback on the Bussin With the Boys podcast this week, and former Vikings wideout Adam Thielen also gave McCarthy a rave review after a workout in Minnesota earlier this month.
If the Vikings stabilize their quarterback situation, the rest of camp could fall in line. Blake Brandel and Ed Ingram could solidify their standing at the guard position and give the Vikings the depth they haven’t had in a decade. Will Reichard could perform so well that it creates a sense of security at Minnesota’s most cursed position.
Teams usually don’t have to do anything flashy to address storylines, but definitive answers to crucial questions could provide a solid foundation for a successful season. We won’t see much of this progress with the lack of open practices and O’Connell’s history of not letting starters see the field during the preseason. Still, the Vikings will face some bright lights at the beginning of camp.
That’s what the Vikings brought O’Connell in for when he replaced Zimmer in 2022, and it will be his greatest test yet as head coach as the Vikings look to build a foundation for success in 2024 and beyond.
