The Vikings have set their schedule for this summer’s training camp.
The team announced on Tuesday that there will be 12 practices open to the public while the team prepares for the 2025 season. The first of them will be held on Saturday, July 26.
All but one of the practices will be held at the team’s usual practice fields. The exception is a night practice on August 4, which will be held at TCO Stadium on the campus of the team’s facility.
The practices on August 13 and 14 will be joint sessions with the Patriots. The rest of the open practices will be held on July 29-31, August 1-2, August 6-7, and August 11.
People interested in buying tickets for the first NFL game in Ireland are finding themselves frustrated by the process.
A reader of PFT sent us a screenshot showing that there were more than 639,000 prospective buyers ahead of them in a virtual queue to purchase tickets for the September 28 game between the Steelers and Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin. The message from Ticketmaster says to expect a wait of more than an hour before a chance to buy tickets will be available.
Social media is filled with similar messages as well as screenshots that show there was an error once the wait was over. The Irish Times features a quote from the Ticketmaster website saying that “there are still tickets available” and that “your place in the queue is secure.”
Ticket sales for other events around the world have been plagued by online bots deployed by resellers looking to garner blocks of tickets. It’s unclear if that’s the case here or if the NFL has found a larger than anticipated market of ticket buyers for this year and the future in Ireland.
Vikings receiver Jordan Addison has a trial date arising from July 2024 a DUI citation.
Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, a jury trial will commence on July 15, in a California court.
In July 2024, Addison was found asleep at the wheel at LAX airport. He is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration in excess of the legal limit of .08 percent.
Both are misdemeanors. The related complication comes from the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. Baseline punishment for first offense DUI is a three-game suspension.
The NFL’s procedure becomes activated by resolution of the criminal case. Either a conviction or an admission within the context of, for example, entering a diversion program, accepting deferred adjudication, or pleading no contest triggers a suspension.
The timeline for the NFL’s in-house justice system can be fuzzy. If Addison is convicted next month, there’s a decent chance the suspension will be served during the 2025 season.
Addison had 911 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie in 2023. Last season, he generated 875 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Minnesota has been rocked by the assassination of House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home, along with the attempted assassination of Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
The Vikings have issued a statement condemning the senseless act of political violence.
“As Minnesotans and a team that cares deeply about our state, we are shocked and saddened by the targeted overnight attacks that took the lives of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and seriously injured State Senator Jon Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
“Our organization has worked closely with both legislators and appreciated their duties as civil servants. Speaker Emerita Hortman was a friend of the Vikings for more than 15 years and a tremendous state leader who worked tirelessly to make Minnesota a better place for all residents. She was a mother, a wife and a friend who genuinely cared about people and relationships. Our prayers are with the Hortman family as they grieve this tragedy and with all government officials who are mourning the loss of a colleague and friend. We hope for fast and full recoveries for Senator Hoffman and Yvette and safety for all members of law enforcement who continue to search for those responsible.
“These senseless acts should have no place in our communities, our state or our society. We must all unequivocally condemn political violence, reject hateful division, and deliberately work toward mutual respect, compassion and unity.”
The suspected shooter remains at large.
The Vikings agreed to a contract extension with offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reports. Phillips was entering the final year of his deal, and the extension keeps him under contract through 2026.
The team signed General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell to new deals earlier this offseason.
Phillips followed O’Connell to Minnesota in 2022 when the Vikings hired O’Connell as their head coach. Phillips was one of O’Connell’s first hires, giving Phillips an offensive coordinator job for the first time.
Phillips first coached with O’Connell in Washington in 2017-18, and they were together again on the Rams in 2020-21.
Phillips, 46, does not call the plays, but he helps organize the team’s game plan during the week and plays a big role on game day.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores also is entering the final year of his contract, per Goessling. Flores hopes for a second chance as a head coach after interviewing for three jobs this offseason.
