Minnesota Vikings News and Links: What Position Group Are You Looking Forward To Watching?

or me, out of the position groups, I think defensive line is going to be the most interesting to watch and to see how it all shakes out. I am always a fan of the big uglies and I think it is key to the success of the defense. I have to trust Flores and it is super exciting and interesting that the team drafted Caleb Banks and Dominique Orange. The depth on the defensive line has shifted to being very young. The two oldest players are Eric Johnson II (27) and Isaiahh Loudermilk (28) and Johnson received

$93,750 in guaranteed money, while Isaiahh Loudermilk received $0 in guaranteed money. The defensive line could be very very young when the season starts which will hopefully lead to a very strong and young group for at least a few more years.

The first training camp practice is 30 days away. Rookies report to training camp in 24 days.

Rookie Arrival: First-year players report to the TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minnesota, on July 26.
Veteran Arrival: Returning players and full-squad activities begin two days later on July 28.

2026 Vikings Training Camp Full Schedule
https://www.vikings.com/schedule/vikings-events/training-camp/schedule

DATE : TIME : PRACTICE
Saturday, Aug. 1 : Noon- 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 3 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 4 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 5 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 7 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 8 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 9 : 5 – 11 p.m. : 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 11 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 12 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 13 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 17 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 19 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m. : Joint Practice with Baltimore Ravens
Thursday, Aug. 20 : Noon – 5 p.m. : 2:30 p.m. : Joint Practice with Baltimore Ravens

The Minnesota Vikings 2026 preseason schedule features three matchups
Week 1: Saturday, August 15 at New York Giants (1:00 PM ET)
Week 2: Saturday, August 22 vs. Baltimore Ravens (12:00 PM ET)
Week 3: Friday, August 28 at Denver Broncos (Time TBD)

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

10 predictions for 2026 NFL season: Division winners, trades
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49218532/2026-nfl-season-predictions-division-winners-awards-playoffs-trades

The Vikings will win the NFC North
Sportsbooks have the Vikings as the clear fourth in the division, and it’s an easy case to make. Not only do the other three teams have clear quarterback stability, but they also have recently produced very strong offenses with said quarterbacks. The Vikings are coming off the J.J. McCarthy year with various Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer intermissions. Brutal stuff. While the free agent signing of Kyler Murray should elevate them back to above-average quarterback play, it’s a bet the other three squads don’t have to risk.

Here’s my counterpoint: the other side of the ball. The Vikings are the only defense I trust in this division. The Packers won’t have edge rusher Micah Parsons for the first half of the season and lost defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to the Dolphins. The Bears’ defense was first in EPA on takeaways and 30th in EPA on all other plays — it’s unlikely they run that pure in turnover luck once again. The Lions had solid defensive metrics last season but have undergone enormous turnover in the secondary. Amik Robertson left in free agency, Terrion Arnold was released following his arrest in Florida, and safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are not expected to be healthy to start the season. For a team that likes to play man coverage, that’s especially worrisome.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Brian Flores continues chugging along as the best defensive coordinator in the NFL. His creative maximizations of subpar talent stand above the work done by Philly’s Vic Fangio and Denver’s Vance Joseph on superior rosters. There were important departures this year — Jonathan Greenard, Harrison Smith — but Flores has consistently shown that he can beat the other sideline with X’s and O’s. With improved talent at defensive tackle via the draft (Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange), the Vikings’ interior run defense might stiffen up. That has been their Achilles’ heel.

If the Vikings’ defense remains a needle-moving unit, then a functional offense could return them to their 2024 status under QB Sam Darnold. Minnesota went 14-3 that year, losing the division in Week 17 to the Lions. It’s unreasonable to expect another 14 wins in a division this tough, but Murray easily has the requisite talent to improve on Minnesota’s 9-8 season in 2025.

O’Connell’s aptitude for adjusting his offense to his quarterback remains one of the league’s more impressive skills. It wasn’t just the Darnold year. He did it for Joshua Dobbs as a midseason trade acquisition in 2023. He did it for McCarthy last season, giving him far more out-breaking routes than he had given other passers. I have questions about the Vikings’ offensive line and running game, and Murray’s inconsistencies might prove too much for the offense to be truly trustworthy. But I’m confident O’Connell will set him up for success, and Murray has huge earning potential on the free agent market in 2027. He’ll be motivated to perform.

I’m not particularly down on the Lions or Bears (though a little dubious of the Packers), so any outcome in the NFC North wouldn’t surprise me much. I just don’t think the Vikings deserve to be a clear fourth in the pecking order of what should be a highly competitive group once again.

Minnesota Vikings have fourth place odds to win the NFC North and it’s easy to see why many don’t believe in them
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/minnesota-vikings-fourth-place-odds-win-nfc-north-packers-lions-bears/

Ryan Fitzpatrick gives Vikings new Kyler Murray warning amid J.J. McCarthy competition
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/ryan_fitzpatrick_gives_vikings_new_kyler_murray_warning_amid_jj_mccarthy_competition/s1_13132_44019200

During a Wednesday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” former NFL quarterback and current analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick shared a warning for the Vikings about Murray’s future.

“I think his best year with Minnesota will be his first year, and if they keep him after that, it’s going to trail off because some of the issues that came up in Arizona are going to be the same issues that follow him,” Fitzpatrick said about Murray, per Eduardo Razo of Heavy.

“I don’t know that it’s a maturity issue,” Fitzpatrick added during the segment. “I just think, with Kyler Murray, what are his strengths? All the things that you can measure, those are the things that he’s always been unbelievable at. I think it’s just been some of the intangibles where he has struggled, fitting into a locker room and being able to elevate a team to the next level. So I just think in Year 1, you’re not going to have to worry about those things because they’ll take care of themselves. It’s easy in Year 1 because everything is new. As you go on in the same spot for multiple years, those things become much more important. That’s what I’m saying as to why I think this year is going to be great, but it’s going to be a one-year experiment that starts out great and tails off from there.”

Vikings Land Strong Take on Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/strong-take-justin-jefferson-jordan-addison/

Despite last season’s production being slightly below expectations, Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated has Addison and Jefferson in his Top 5 wideout duos heading into the 2026 season, ranking them No. 5.

“There is some uncertainty with the partnership of Jefferson and Addison after a down 2025 season and the ongoing quarterback battle between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy,” Manzano wrote in a July 1 article.

“But this is a dominant duo when receiving competent quarterback play, evident from what they have done since the Vikings drafted Addison in 2023 to pair him with Jefferson, who still might be the league’s best receiver after delivering his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, despite the disastrous QB play in 2025.”

“If Murray can regain his top form or McCarthy shows vast improvement, there likely won’t be any debate about who’s the best wideout in the game,” Manzano added in his article. “Addison hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiving season in his three-year career, but his knack for stretching the field has given Jefferson plenty of beneficial matchups on the field.”

Ben Leber on the Future of Vikings WR Jordan Addison
Addison will be keen on having an impressive 2026 season, given that he’s looking for a long-term contract. Minnesota did pick up the fifth-year option, but new Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley will have to decide if the wideout is someone he wants to keep or eventually flip for either draft or younger assets.

Nonetheless, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber was asked which two scenarios are likely to happen in the next 12 months: Addison gets a contract extension, or Minnesota decides it’s time to trade the wideout.

“I think it’s more realistic that he is traded,” Leber said in a June 23 video on his YouTube channel. “I just think that he’s due for a giant contract. Like we don’t if everything stops right now and you look at his numbers and all that stuff. The only comp that we have out of his draft class is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He just got a fat deal right now.”

Vikings’ Former Fan-Favorite QB Talks Harrison Smith; ‘There is Fire’
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/vikings-former-qb-harrison-smith/

Recently, former Vikings QB Kyle Sloter discussed Harrison Smith’s return on a podcast appearance. He sat down for an interview with Steve Hoikkala of The Vikings Playbook podcast, a PurplePTSD production.

Hoikkala asked Sloter about his feelings on Harrison Smith.

“I actually talked to Harrison probably daily…we probably didn’t talk too much football and what’s it looking like coming back and this, that, the other…..there is fire. I would say that he just from a a body standpoint as well as mentally, he’s in a place where I think he’s probably moved on. Also, I’ll say this. I don’t think, and I’m not promising anything, I’m not speaking for him.

This this is my guess based on everything: I think that players hate training camp. They hate OTAs. Don’t want to be there for that. Especially veterans, guys that are Hall of Famers, they don’t feel the need to be there. They know the system. They know how to play football at that point in their career. It’s about their body…”

“I think he’s kind of somebody that would love to go through training camp in terms of get through it, not be there, go through a couple weeks of the season, and then evaluate where the team is at and can we make a run at it? Are we going to be a competitive team? I think if you’re a competitive team, I think there’s a chance that he is there at some point mid year. Otherwise, I think that he probably stays where he’s at.”

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Vikings Film Breakdown: Studying Rookie Defensive Lineman Domonique ‘Big Citrus’ Orange
https://www.vikings.com/news/domonique-orange-defensive-lineman-film-breakdown-review-analysis-2026

Orange participated in Minnesota’s Rookie Minicamp on May 8 and afterward his face lit up when he was asked about his fit on the defense. It’s “almost verbatim what I was doing in college,” he said of the role he anticipates handling within Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme. “This defense is really fit for me. I’m so glad that the Vikings decided to take a chance on me to be [an anchor] in this defense, because it’s really who I am. I’m a true nose [tackle]. I’m a guy that’s in the middle, stopping everything.”

What Is the Most Underrated Vikings Roster Battle?
https://zonecoverage.com/2026/minnesota-vikings-news/what-is-the-most-underrated-vikings-roster-battle/

Vikings’ Top Trade Chip Apparently Has a Name
https://vikingsterritory.com/2026/news/analysis/vikings-jj-mccarthy-trade-chip

Will Reichard Is Going Overlooked This Offseason
https://zonecoverage.com/2026/minnesota-vikings-news/will-reichard-is-going-overlooked-this-offseason/

Minnesota Vikings continue to receive criticism for their biggest offseason move, and it’s completely warranted
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/minnesota-vikings-jonathan-greenard-trade-continues-to-receive-criticism/

Vikings Brian Flores Is the Biggest Reason to Believe in Minnesota
https://sports.yahoo.com/videos/vikings-brian-flores-biggest-reason-160733636.html

Why Ed Ingram trade to Texans ‘best thing that ever happened to me,’ why he believes: ‘We’re going to that Super Bowl’
https://www.click2houston.com/sports/2026/06/30/why-ed-ingram-trade-to-texans-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-me-why-he-believes-were-going-to-that-super-bowl/