Minnesota Vikings

Adrian Peterson had an eventful trip to the Vikings’ facility last week.

Peterson thought he was in town to speak to the team’s rookies ahead of their minicamp, but the Vikings had something to share with him. While Peterson was filming content for the team’s website, former Viking John Randle entered the room and showed Peterson a display that revealed he has been elected to the franchise’s Ring of Honor.

Peterson was the seventh pick of the 2007 draft and he spent 10 years with the Vikings. Peterson led the league in rushing three times during that stint, including a 2,097-yard season in 2012 that ranks as the second-best single-season effort in NFL history. He was named the league MVP that year and is the last non-quarterback to win the award.

Peterson, who is the Vikings’ all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, also set the NFL record for single-game rushing yards by busting loose for 296 yards in a 2007 game. He will also be eligible for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the first time in 2027, so there could be back-to-back honors for Peterson in the near future.

The Vikings have officially added a pair of young defensive players.

Minnesota announced on Monday that the club has signed defensive lineman Smith Vilbert and linebacker Bangally Kamara.

Both Vilibert and Kamara had participated in Minnesota’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.

Vilbert split his time in college between Penn State and North Carolina, playing for the Tar Heels in 2025. Kamara began his collegiate career at Pitt before transferring to South Carolina and finishing his time at Kansas last season.

The Vikings have added quarterback Kyler Murray to a depth chart that includes 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy. So who will win the starting job?

It’s all TBD.

“They envision it being a true competition: Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network recently said on The Rich Eisen Show, via NFL.com. “And both these guys are going to go into this believing they’re gonna win this job. I don’t know frankly how friendly that quarterback room is going to be. It’s going to be a very competitive quarterback room.

“From everything that I’ve understood, it is truly wide open. They’re keeping an open mind as a coaching staff.”

A “true competition” favors Murray, in our view. He’s more accomplished. More proven. All things equal, he should be able to win the job.

For McCarthy to win it, he’ll need to step up. Ball out. Outplay the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. The player who was named offensive rookie of the year before making it to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021.

Even if McCarthy wins the job, he’ll need to hold it. That means staying healthy. He has missed all of his rookie year due to a preseason knee injury. In 2025, he missed seven games.

A “true competition” will help both get ready to play. Chances are they both will.

The question becomes when the competition will end. At some point, the Vikings need to get their starter ready for the regular season. Which means getting him all of the first-team practice reps, sooner than later.

And one key factor in the competition is the opinion of the locker room. If one player stands out over the other, the rest of the players will know. And they’ll expect that guy to be the guy.

The Vikings currently are looking for a new General Manager. They already have a coach.

On Friday, the coach was asked about the search.

“First and foremost, just out of respect for the process, it’s currently ongoing, you know, I would defer . . . everything to ownership, and [Vikings COO] Andrew Miller as that process is ongoing,” Kevin O’Connell said. “I’m excited for potentially forming that relationship, going through the process, and as much of a part as ownership and Andrew want me to be a part of it, I will. . . . [V]ery much looking forward to a great outcome, which I know we’re gonna get.”

O’Connell was asked whether he’ll be talking to the candidates to be interviewed by the organization.

“In whatever capacity that ownership and Andrew have for me as their plan, that’s what I’m gonna do,” O’Connell said. “You know, obviously, it’s an important time. It’s important. It’s clearly an important hire, but I have so much respect in the process-driven, the process-oriented aspect of not only our ownership, but Andrew Miller, that I know we’re gonna get to that good outcome.”

It’s definitely important. And it’s critical that the new General Manager and O’Connell will be fully aligned. It needs to be a team effort. The G.M. must acquire players the coaching staff wants, and keep the players the coaching staff needs. There needs to be little or no daylight between the G.M. and coach.

The biggest question is whether the new G.M. will report to O’Connell, whether O’Connell will report to the new G.M., or whether they’ll be deemed as equal in the eyes of ownership.

Regardless, O’Connell is the proven commodity. He has a record of 43-25 in four seasons, with a 13-win season in 2022 and a 14-win effort in 2024. And he did it with a G.M. whom ownership decided to fire after the 2025 season.

The best organizations have a G.M. and coach who are fully on the same page. When adversity strikes (and it will), they need to work even more closely together. For some teams, losing results in finger pointing and infighting. The coach blames the G.M., and the G.M. blames the coach. One goes, one stays.

That’s recently happened in Minnesota. Not because the team lost too many games, but because the team has failed to fulfill the potential it has shown since O’Connell became the head coach. That alone should give O’Connell a little more juice going forward.

Rookie minicamps routinely include more than rookies. In Minnesota, veteran quarterback Cooper Rush will participate on a tryout basis.

The team has announced 57 attendees for the weekend session. Of that number, 23 have been invited to the weekend practices on a tryout basis.

Rush, 32, has played in 42 regular-season games with 16 starts. He has a 9-7 record.

The Ravens cut him earlier this year, after making Tyler Huntley the primary backup to Lamar Jackson. Before that, Rush spent seven seasons with the Cowboys, starting eight games in 2024 and five in 2022.

Although the Vikings have four quarterbacks on the roster, they need arms for the rookie minicamp. And they neither drafted nor signed as an undrafted free agent any rookie quarterbacks.

Joining Rush on a tryout basis will be Aidan Bouman. His father is former NFL quarterback Todd Bouman, who played for the Vikings, Saints, and Jaguars.

The Vikings got most of their draft picks signed in one fell swoop.

Eight of the team’s nine picks signed with the team on Friday. That group includes first-round pick Caleb Banks.

Banks was the 18th overall pick and the defensive tackle’s four-year deal includes $21.28 million in fully guaranteed money. As is the case for all first-round picks, Banks’ contract also includes a team option for a fifth season.

The Vikings also signed third-round defensive tackle Domonique Orange, third-round offensive tackle Caleb Tiernan, third-round safety Jakobe Thomas, fifth-round fullback Max Bredeson, fifth-round cornerback Charles Demmings, sixth-round running back Demond Claiborne, and seventh-round center Gavin Gerhardt.

Second-round linebacker Jake Golday is the team’s only unsigned pick.

Carson Wentz’s 2025 season ended with a left shoulder injury that required surgery in October. He originally injured his shoulder Oct. 5, while playing in place of starter J.J. McCarthy.

Wentz played through a dislocated shoulder that included a torn labrum and fractured socket until he couldn’t.

The veteran quarterback, who made NFL history by starting at least one game for his sixth different team in six seasons, recently shared an update on his rehab.

In an interview with Luke Gamble of KFYR-TV, Wentz sounded optimistic about participating in the team’s organized team activities.

“Physically, I feel great,” Wentz told Gamble. “Shoulder’s more or less behind me now. It wasn’t fun by any means, but surgery went well, and rehab’s gone really well, too. So for me, it’s behind me. I’m healthy, and I’ll be ready to roll.”

Wentz re-signed with the Vikings despite Kyler Murray also being in the room. The two veterans will compete with McCarthy for the starting job.

“It’s a different dynamic obviously in the room with a couple other guys and having Kyler now in the mix,” Wentz said. “It’s fun. It’s fun to compete. It’s fun to get to know guys in another way. But I think just the competition in the environment will make everybody better.”

Wentz said he “will be ready however it goes.”

The Vikings have had a need for another established receiver since Jalen Nailor signed with the Raiders early in free agency. They’ve finally addressed it.

Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Vikings and receiver Jauan Jennings have agreed to terms on a one-year deal. It’s reportedly worth “up to” $13 million. Which doesn’t shed much light on the true value of the deal. The reported figure is the maximum amount he can earn; without knowing the base value and the triggers for any incentives, it’s impossible to assess the deal.

Jennings became a free agent two years ago, on the heels of a solid performance in Super Bowl LVIII. He re-signed with the 49ers on a fairly modest deal. After generating 975 yards in 2024, he sought a raise. Ultimately, the 49ers added $3 million in incentives.

With the window for compensatory-draft pick consideration closing last week, the move won’t count toward San Francisco’s or Minnesota’s ultimate haul of extra selections.

A seventh-round pick in 2020, Jennings had spent six seasons with the 49ers. He had 643 receiving yards in 2025. He visited the Vikings last week.

In Minnesota, Jennings joins a depth chart led by Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jennings was the highest remaining available free agent on the PFT list, at No. 23.

Joe Senser, a former Vikings tight end who later served as a radio analyst for Vikings games, has died. He was 69.

A sixth-round pick in 1979, Senser’s promising playing career was cut short by a knee injury. In 1981, he had 79 catches for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns.

He worked on the Vikings radio broadcasts in 1993 and 1994, and from 2001 through 2006.

“The Vikings family is saddened by the loss of Joe Senser. Joe was a Pro Bowler on the field, but his impact on the organization and in the community was felt long after his playing days,” team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said. “Joe was a generous soul with countless charitable endeavors. He brought his positive personality to every interaction he had, whether it be with former teammates, Vikings staff or our family when we became stewards of this franchise. Joe’s warmth and welcoming spirit will last in the memories of those who knew him.”

Former Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer said this, on Twitter: “It wasn’t about the money, it wasn’t about fame, it was about playing the game we loved and winning. Most of all, it was about the fans. Joe was one of the best. Rest easy my friend, until we meet again.”

We extend our condolences to Senser’s family, friends, teammates, and colleagues.

There are now two more known candidates for the Vikings’ General Manager vacancy.

According to multiple reports, Minnesota has put in requests to interview Rams assistant G.M. John McKay and Seahawks assistant G.M. Nolan Teasley.

That brings the club’s number of known requests up to seven: McKay, Teasley, Vikings interim G.M. Rob Brzezinski, Bills assistant G.M. Terrance Gray, Titans assistant G.M. Dave Ziegler, 49ers assistant G.M. RJ Gillen, and Chargers assistant G.M. Chad Alexander.

McKay, in particular, could be one to watch for the position, as he worked alongside Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell with the Rams. McKay was Los Angeles’ director of pro personnel and O’Connell was the team’s offensive coordinator when the club won Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season.