Vikings Will Host Joint Practices with 2 Teams This Summer
Josh Frey
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On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they are going to host a pair of joint practices this summer. Each of these practices will take place prior to their home preseason games this August, with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans coming to Eagan.
Kevin O’Connell discussed this decision during a press conference, saying, “It’ll give us a tremendous opportunity to have 4+ days of really good competition. I know both coach Vrabel and coach Jonathan Gannon, both those guys, I have personal relationships with. I know what kind of leaders they are; I know what kind of teams they’ll be bringing here, making sure that we get some great work.”
Both the Cardinals and Titans missed the playoffs in 2022, with the Cardinals finishing the season with a 4-13 record while Tennessee went 7-10. Each of the teams ran into some injury concerns as the year went on, particularly at the QB spot with Kyler Murray suffering a torn ACL and Ryan Tannehill’s season ending due to an ankle sprain.
Each team enters 2023 in an interesting spot as well. Murray will likely remain out for a good chunk of this upcoming year, meaning it will likely be Colt McCoy taking snaps under center when the team comes to Minnesota. They also recently released DeAndre Hopkins after being unable to find a trade partner for the veteran receiver.
Meanwhile in Tennessee, there have been talks of potentially moving on from Ryan Tannehill in order to allow either Will Levis or Malik Willis take over the reins with the offense.
These joint practices in Minnesota continue a trend set by O’Connell during his first season in 2022 when the Vikings also played host to the San Francisco 49ers in a week of practices together last summer.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.