After their first day off, the Minnesota Vikings were back on the practice field Wednesday morning for team walk-thrus with the first of four straight days of padded practice set to kick off later this afternoon.
Here’s a few of the early day notes and a few things that we can look forward to for the afternoon session…
Riley Reiff still absent from practice…
The Riley Reiff tenure with the Minnesota Vikings got off to a rough start last week as Reiff didn’t make it through the entirety of the team’s first practice before leaving with what the head coach has only called a “twinge”. Now, almost a week later Reiff has done little more than watch from the sidelines. This morning, he was absent completely from the team’s walk-thru. Maybe more concerning, Reiff’s not even working out independently on the side fields. You can read into this a few different ways. The optimistic look would be that he’s close to returning, works out out of the eye of the public and is waiting with a day-to-day designation. The other, pessimistic view would be that he’s still a ways away from overcoming that twinge and returning to the field. Either way, this was your big offseason get for the offensive line and the longer he’s not out there the more concerning the situation becomes.
Wide Receiver competition is heating up…
It’s an interesting year for the wide receivers at Vikings Training Camp. Stock is still high on third year player Stefon Diggs, former rookie mini camp invite Adam Thielen just got paid, a few wideouts were drafted and Jarius Wright is calling people idiots...still most of the attention is paid to a guy that won’t even be in uniform the first month of the season. The addition of Michael Floyd has thrown an unusual wrench into the team’s plans for the wideouts. Originally thought to be an experiment, Floyd is quickly supplanting himself as “in the mix” for the regular season rotation, but he’s suspended for the first four games of the year. So a decision is going to be made that will impact only the first month of the year before Michael returns and dives headfirst into the huddle. Who will be the 6th wide receiver kept only to be waived a few weeks later? If Wright makes the team his contract becomes guaranteed so cutting him midseason wouldn’t be a smart option. Fruechte could work in, slip through waivers and sign back with the team. Either way, battles are being fought and positions are being won for the wide receivers this year.
Today Show present at Vikings practice…
NBC’s Megyn Kelly and Al Roker were on hand for morning walk-thrus spending most of their time hunkered down on a golf cart with General Manager Rick Spielman. Sounds like the tandem is on hand for filming surrounding a contest won by a youngster who won the opportunity to attend training camp. The piece is scheduled to air before the team’s preseason game against the 49ers on August 27th.
KFAN will be live down in Mankato throughout camp. Stay tuned to 100.3FM and the Vikings blog for updates...