Vikings Links:  Can The Vikings Defeat The Giants?

8 days to go before the Vikings face the Giants and Daniel Jones. I am not sure how Jones will play as he looked a bit shaky in the preseason but he is coming back from a torn ACL. Can the Vikings handle Malik Nabers? I am sure there will be deeper dives this week as we prepare for the games.

I was surprised the team cut Jaren Hall but picks after the 5th round are not a guarantee of making the roster. KOC did draft him though. It is interesting to read the comments about the team wanting to add him to the practice squad which has not happened yet. I wonder if he is waiting to see if another team will want him and where he might get a better shot. Next year, it has to be the JJ McCarthy show unless they do something crazy like what is in a link below.

I can say that none of the QBs really inspire much confidence. Darnold is in the hopeful category while Mullens and Rypien are in the “oh crap” category. It is still a biy of a wonder why they did not give Cousins what he wanted AND drafted JJ. Cousins said they told him they would not draft a QB if he re-signed and they told him they would not guarantee as long or much as he wanted. Seems like a compromise would have been to give him the guarantees as long as he knew they were taking a QB.

Fingers crossed for the season!

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Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Kevin O’Connell & Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Explain Vikings Plan After QB Roster Moves

The Vikings wanted to add experience to their quarterbacks room and did so by signing Brett Rypien Thursday, but they also want to continue the development of Jaren Hall.

To make room for Rypien, who is entering his sixth NFL season, as the team’s third quarterback on the 53-man roster, Minnesota waived Hall, a second-year pro who had made the initial 53 with starter Sam Darnold and veteran backup Nick Mullens.

Within about two hours of announcing Thursday’s moves, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell participated in previously scheduled media sessions and explained their plan, which includes trying to sign Hall to Minnesota’s practice squad — if he clears waivers.

“Jaren has done a great job for us. Obviously, he had really improved over the preseason,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We talk, and I use that ‘development’ word a lot. And with quarterbacks, you don’t want to throw these guys in too early. And I think with him, we just want more time to where we’re going to.

“I’ve learned from last season that you’re either one snap away or one snap from being one snap away,” Adofo-Mensah added. “We just wanted to be in a position where we felt, you know, adding Brett to the room feels good. We feel good about that decision, but also giving us more time to pour into Jaren and work with him if he so chooses to do that.”

“Brett has some exposure to, you know, different variations of our system that will give him a fast-track timeline,” O’Connell said. “And just knowing where he’s at mentally, the type of preseason he had, it gives us a little bit more of a short-term kind of foundational plan for a week from Sunday versus what might be in Jaren Hall’s best interest for what’s best for his career.

Hall, a fifth-round pick in 2023, finished his second NFL preseason having completed 28 of 46 passes for 339 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 112.5.

“I fully believe in Jaren Hall’s future,” O’Connell said. “I believe that we brought Jaren here for a long-term process that, quite honestly, you guys have heard me talk about quarterback journeys a lot. That timeline got sped up when we went through the numbers at the position we did a year ago.

“And all Jaren has done, you know, since that is do all the right things, improve. I thought he was, you know, showing a lot of those things in the preseason action,” O’Connell added. “That move was really indicative of knowing what we went through last year, having the opportunity to have a couple veteran guys behind Sam that give us an opportunity, with comfort in the system.”

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Despite rebuilding, Minnesota Vikings have a surprisingly old team. Is that a problem?

The Minnesota Vikings are in the third year of their competitive rebuild under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah with this season having the lowest expectations of thre three. That competitive rebuild has seen the Vikings turn over the roster over the past three years to the tune of just 10 players from the 2021 season are still on the roster.

Even with that fact, the Vikings are shockingly old. They are the second-oldest team in the National Football League at 27.2 years old. That is a high number for a team in a competitive rebuild.

One of the intriguing elements for the Vikings concerning their age is how many players they have with four or more years of experience. They are tied for third in the NFL at 33.

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QB guru foresees big season for Sam Darnold, playoff potential for Vikings

Former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer has become one of the most well-respected voices in the sport as a renowned coach. He was recently on The Rich Eisen Show and had nothing but good things to say about Sam Darnold’s outlook with the Vikings.

“I am really excited to see Sam Darnold, finally in a good situation,” Palmer said. “Stats are stats, numbers are numbers, but I think it’s hard to argue, he’s been in tough spot after tough spot after tough spot, impossible to succeed type spots.”

“I think that context last year, now entering a new locker room, Kevin O’Connell, some great pieces obviously in that huddle with him and some coaches that have won,” Palmer said. “I am just excited to see him in that situation and expectations are really high.”

“[O’Connell] hasn’t really had someone with this level of mobility, Sam is more on the upper end of mobility at quarterback,” Palmer said. “How does a creative mind like Kevin O’Connell use that mobility? How do they create more opportunities for all these pass catchers? Because it’s not just Justin Jefferson, they got [tight end T.J. Hockenson] coming back, they now add the piece of Aaron Jones. I think this is a playoff-caliber team for sure. I think Sam is in a position here to make a run for Comeback Player of the Year.”

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Vikings Still on the Prowl for Right Guard Upgrade

Let’s just say… the Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster remains fluid, something they’ve already proven at other positions. Ed Ingram’s slow development has presented a problem for head coach Kevin O’Connell.

That’s why, according to local insider Darren “Doogie” Wolfson, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah remains interested in any guard talent that might come available. Whether that upgrade presents itself now (trade, waiver wire, etc) or in the future (draft, free agency, etc) Kwesi is actively looking for Ed Ingram’s replacement.

“I’ll tell you the position I would watch more than any, is right guard. That Ed Ingram spot. Whether it’s Tyrese Robinson, or maybe somebody on the 53. Is there eventually a chance for one of these young guys, and maybe it’s not even necessarily this year, but I think they’ve had a number of discussions internally about the future of that right guard position. That yes, Ed Ingram is good to go September 8th, not convinced he’s good to go this time next year, or even later in the season. That position is one I’m keeping an eye on.”

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Vikings Potential Landing Spot for $160 Million QB, MVP Runner-Up

The Minnesota Vikings made the best of a tough situation under center by drafting rookie QB J.J. McCarthy and signing free agent Sam Darnold this offseason, though each outcome fell short of ideal.

Minnesota is built to win now on offense with the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson approaching or having just entered their respective primes. That reality makes the Vikings an interesting candidate for a player like Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys a year from now should the limited contract extension talks between the two sides fall apart completely.

Prescott is entering the final season of a four-year, $160 million deal in 2024 and has a projected market value of $55.1 million annually.

“You could easily say, if you haven’t seen it by now, you haven’t seen it,” Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic, after a reporter asked the Dallas owner on Wednesday what more he needed to see from Prescott to give him a new mega-deal.

Media members then inquired with Jones as to an alternate plan should the team fail to reach an agreement with Prescott.

“I quit a long time ago getting bent out of shape about having anybody under contract or not. There are all kinds of things other than a contract that could change the outcome of him being under contract — injury, level of play,” Jones continued. “The whole thing has a lot of moving parts. Now, I can live with that … because we play a game that it can change on the next play.”

Prescott responded to Jones’ comments the following day with a dismissal, more or less.

“I stopped, honestly, listening to things [Jones] says to the media a long time ago,” Prescott said, per Machota. “It doesn’t really hold weight with me.”

McCarthy was the fifth QB off the board at No. 10, and Minnesota had to trade up to ensure it secured him. Now, he’s out for the year with a surgically-repaired meniscus.

Insider Judd Zulgad of Vikings Wire reported following the draft that Minnesota actually liked a different quarterback more.

“I’ve heard rumblings on [Michael] Penix, that the Vikings did love him and they liked his arm,” Zulgad said on July 12. “And they liked him more than McCarthy.”

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Yore Mock

Trade Partner: Jaguars

Sent: Round 1, Pick 9

Received: Round 1, Pick 15, Round 2, Pick 47

…

Trade Partner: Rams

Sent: Round 1, Pick 15

Received: Round 1, Pick 18, Round 4, Pick 118

…

Trade Partner: Packers

Sent: Round 1, Pick 18

Received: Round 1, Pick 23, Round 3, Pick 87

…

Trade Partner: Jets

Sent: Round 4, Pick 118

Received: Round 4, Pick 122, Round 6, Pick 206

…

Trade Partner: Jets

Sent: Round 5, Pick 154

Received: Round 5, Pick 164, Round 7, Pick 241

…

23. Nic Scourton EDGE Texas A&M 6’4” 285

Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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47. Shavon Revel Jr. CB East Carolina 6’3” 193

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87. Xavier Nwankpa S Iowa 6’2” 215

Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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97. Nazir Stackhouse DL Georgia 6’3” 320

Photo by Perry McIntyre/ISI Photos/Getty Images

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122. Devin Neal RB Kansas 5’11” 215

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

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146. Jaeden Roberts IOL Alabama 6’5” 310

Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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164. Nick Martin LB Oklahoma State 6’0” 220

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206. Kyren Lacy WR LSU 6’2” 213

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

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227. Nofoafia Tulafono OC Wyoming 6’2” 325

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

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241. Alfred Collins DL Texas 6’5” 320

Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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