The Minnesota Vikings are getting ready to resume Organized Team Activities later this month, and they are continuing to find a way to maximize their growth ahead of the 2025 season.
On Monday, The Star Tribune's Ben Goessling confirmed something we had believed would come to fruition for the past six weeks, as the Vikings will be hosting the New England Patriots for joint practices this upcoming August ahead of their preseason matchup in week two.
Vikings to host Patriots in joint practices
It's really interesting that the Vikings are hosting the Patriots in joint practices. This will be the fifth instance of a joint practice since head coach Kevin O'Connell took over as the Vikings' head coach.
- 2022: San Francisco 49ers
- 2023: Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals
- 2024: Cleveland Browns (in Cleveland)
It's becoming a trend across the league to have joint practices. You arguably get more out of joint practices than you do in a preseason game, as you end up seeing your top players go against each other.
It's something that O'Connell has prioritized during his tenure. He talked about what he gets out of these practices after day one of joint practices with Mike Vrabel's Titans two years ago.
"We kind of put things together just so our players have a menu of plays, we try to put together plays that are up and what formations they’re out of and as I tell the guys, in the moment do not hold me to this sheet of paper because I might decide to call something out of a different formaton and sometimes I’m doing it to see if guys are memorizing the lists and sometimes I’m doing it because truly in the moment I feel like there might be a beter way based upon how I’m seeing the coverage or the defense. So, in a lot of ways that is reps for me as well, good question though, I try to find the perfect balance of not taxing our guys by making stuff up on the fly, but at the same time they know that we ask them to learn concepts so where you are in the formation, you could be at any one of five spots as an eligible and I need you to know them all."
Vrabel mentioned the possibility of having joint practices at the owners' meeting because of all things, Minnesota has cheese curds. What that will do is give the Vikings an opportunity to see quarterback J.J. McCarthy against an opposing defense, where he will be throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson.
Those reasons are huge in learning about what the Vikings have in McCarthy and get him prepared for his first start in the National Football League. It's going to be really interesting to see how McCarthy ends up performing in these practices, as all eyes will be on him and fellow top 10 2024 NFL Draft pick Drake Maye.
-1747618791-q80.webp "Sports Illustrated Names Bengals' Home Divisional Matchup Among Top-10 Games of 2025 Season")
