So what’s happening so far?
Hey, everybody! Our Minnesota Vikings have officially been in training camp for a full week and there’s an actual NFL football game tomorrow night, even if it doesn’t include our favorite team. I don’t know if I’ll be watching the Hall of Fame Game but it does mean that our favorite sport is officially back in our lives and there won’t be any weeks without some sort of NFL football until February.
Let’s see what’s out there around the interwebs today.
Will the Vikings Do Something Unusual at Quarterback?
Oh, and that QB turmoil we mentioned not too long ago — needing four quarterbacks — isn’t forgotten. Kevin O’Connell understands better than anyone how difficult that was for his team.
“We played four of ’em last year,” O’Connell explained back in June, “including one guy who was not in our building throughout the offseason or training camp. And relied on him to come in and win a game and then try to play it out from there. So I have total understanding of we only control so much in this whole thing.”
Right now, Minnesota has a loaded depth chart. Keeping four quarterback would seem to be a non-starter since it would be devoting a spot to a player who is very unlikely to contribute. Nevertheless, last year’s experience hasn’t been forgotten and there are reasons to keep both of Mullens and Hall.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s any chance they keep four on the active roster. I stated in our quarterback preview that Hall is probably the odd man out but would likely end up on the practice squad.
Josh Metellus: Justin Jefferson Tries To Embarrass Defenders In Practice
“He’s great. What I always tell the rookies when they come in, is that anytime you line up with him, he’s trying to embarrass you,” Metellus said when asked what it’s like practicing against Jefferson. “He takes that to heart, he never wants to lose a rep. So, anytime you line up against him, you have to bring your A game because he’s going to get you better. He wants the big play. He wants the crowd cheering. He wants to literally embarrass you out on the practice field. So, when you go against him you have to be on your A game. Over these past five years, he’s helped me become such a better player. Just treating practice like a game so that when the game comes I don’t see a better receiver than him.”
I mean, he’s the best wide receiver in the National Football League. He embarrasses a lot of guys.
Kwesi Learned From the Past and Aced Minnesota’s Contract Negotiations This Offseason
How can a player who got the largest contract in non-QB history have a deal that’s good for his team? To understand, we need to look at contracts relative to their cap environment.
Jefferson signed his $35 million per year deal with a $255.4 million salary cap. On the other hand, the salary cap was only $208.2 million when Tyreek Hill signed his $30 million per year deal in 2022. That massive jump in available cap means that Jefferson’s deal takes up 13.7% of the cap at signing, while Hill’s deal took up 14.4%.
Another point of comparison would be Bosa, who got a $34 million per year deal with a $224.8 million salary cap. His deal took up 15.1% of the cap at signing. For Jefferson to match that in the current cap environment, he would have had to get $38.6 million per year on his deal. Within the structure of the deal, the team was able to keep Jefferson’s cap numbers low through 2025 and has plenty of room to move his cap hits from 2026 to 2028 into the future with void years.
People want to give Kwesi a lot of flack for his 2022 draft class, which is understandable. Beyond that, however, he’s been doing a pretty solid job running this team and he’s put them in pretty darn good shape going forward.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Do the Vikings Need An Expensive CB Free Agent?
Key Takeaways From Week 1 of Training Camp
Vikings Sign Veteran CB Fabian Moreau
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