Vikings Release First Depth Chart

Earlier today, the Vikings released their first depth chart in preparation of their first pre-season game, and while there were many things that came as no surprise to anyone, some things were, if not surprising, at least eye opening.

First, from the ‘No Duh’ department: Donovan McNabb is the starting quarterback, but Joe Webb is listed second on the depth chart, ahead of Christian Ponder.

The running back depth is Adrian Peterson, followed by Toby Gerhart and Lorenzo Booker, and Ryan D’imperio is the starting FB. The offensive line, going from LT to RT, is Charlie Johnson, Stever Hutchinsin, John Sullivan, Chris DeGeare, and Phil Loadholt. Pat Brown and Thomas Welch are the backup tackles, and DeMarcus Love is the third string LT.

Not surprisingly, the tight ends are Visanthe Shiancoe and Jim Kleinsasser, but Kyle Rudolph is fourth on the depth chart behind Jeff Dugan.

On defense, the line is as expected, with Brian Robison, Remy Ayodele, Kevin WIlliams, and Jared Allen are the starters. Erin Henderson is listed as the starting weak side linebacker, with rookie Ross Homan backing him up. In the defensive backfield, no surprises with Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin listed as the starters, being backed up by Chris Cook and Asher Allen. the strong safety is Tyrell Johnson getting the nod over Jamarca Sanford, and Husain Abdullah listed as the free safety.

Some Roster Moves Take Place For Vikings

The Vikings have released CB Marcell Gipson in the first significant move of training camp. Gipson, who left the team to be with his family after the death of his grandmother, asked for and received his release.

In other news, former LB Ben Leber signed a one year $1.25 million contract with the St. Louis Rams. Seattle Seahawks, which is quickly becoming the Minnesota Vikings West, as Tarvaris Jackson, Sidney Rice, and now Leber have signed to play for the Seahawks.

Although Leber had a good year last year, the emergence of LB Erin Henderson made Leber expendable, even though his contract seemed to be a very reasonable one for the Seahawks, who get a solid vet at a bargain price.

In other training camp news, the muscle and hamstring tweak fairy has visited the Vikings. TE Visanthe Shiancoe, G Steve Hutchinson, and S Tyrell Johnson have all ‘tweaked’ muscles or hamstrings in the last day or two, and have been held out of practice at some point.

Shiancoe, who’s expected to be a big part of Bill Musgrave’s new two tight end offense, will not play in the Vikings pre-season game against Tennessee on Saturday, but the Vikings insist that it’s just a precaution, and if it were a regular season game, he would be available.

Vikings Day Off Still Eventful As Rhett Bomar Gets Popped For DUI

It’s not like QB Rhett Bomar was going to beat out Donovan McNabb, uber fan fave Joe Webb, or Quarterback Of The Future Christian Ponder, anyway, but when you get popped for a DUI, you really accelerate the decision making process for the Vikings coaching staff.

Yes, what was supposed to be a quiet day off in Mankato became anything but as Bomar was arrested for DUI early Sunday morning. Bomar, who the Vikings got from the New York Giants last season, might have had an opportunity to make the practice squad once the was released by the team, but I find it hard to see a scenario where that happens now.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier is a quiet man, but he gives off the vibe that if you don’t do what’s expected of you, you won’t be long for the Minnesota Vikings.

And with Bomar’s DUI on Sunday, he made an easy choice even easier for the Vikings.

Interviews With Jared Allen And Brian Robison

Defense Has A Leg Up On the Offense As First Week Of Camp Ends

With almost a week of training camp under the belt, some things are starting to come in to focus for the Minnesota Vikings.

For one, the quarterback position seems to be one of stability now, where just last week it was filled with uncertainty. Donovan McNabb gives a veteran presence and leadership, and the two backups, Christian Ponder and Joe Webb, give off an air of confidence that, other than Brett Favre, the Vikings haven’t seen since 2004 or 2005. The addition of WR Michael Jenkins has been a plus for Minnesota, as he is familiar with the offense and has made several big plays during the afternoon practice sessions.

On defense, the line seems to be progressing nicely, as Jared Allen is having a very good camp, and the revamped defensive line seems to be getting the better of the Vikings offensive line.

In the secondary, both CB’s Chris Cook and Cedric Griffin are healthy, and look to be counted on to turn around the fortunes of a secondary that was much maligned in 2010. Antoine Winfield, pound for pound the best player in the NFL, will anchor a unit that will have two new safeties starting the season, and his veteran presence will be needed early on.

Tonight, the Vikings have a practice under the lights at Blakeslee Stadium on the campus of Minnesota State University where training camp has been held for 46 years. It’s open to the public and starts at 7 PM. After the practice, there will be a fireworks display.

Referees In Camp To Review Rule Changes

An NFL officiating crew lead by referee Jeff Triplett is visiting the Vikings in Mankato to review rule changes for the 2011 season.

Some of the highlights involve defending defenselees players and reviews on a scoring play.

For the review, coaches can no longer challenge scoring plays at all; a review will be determined by the replay official only, at any time during the game. So, if a team scores, the opposing coach can’t challenge. But to prevent teams from running the kicking team out to hurry up and get the next play done, the official will not allow the ball to be snapped until he has received confirmation from the replay official that the score was confirmed.

The league is also getting very serious about blows to the head, and defenders leading with the helmet. Basically, if a defender leads with his helmet towards a defenseless player, it will be a 15 yard penalty. A defenseless player is considered a quarterback in the act of throwing, a receiver who is in the act of catching a ball, and a kicker in the act of kicking, among others.

A point of emphasis will also be placed on running backs and grabbing the facemask of a would be tackler. Running backs are still going to be allowed to use a straight arm, and incidental contact to the facemask is permissible. But if the runner grabs the facemask and then twists, it’s a 15 yard penalty.

Vikings Unexpectedly Cut LT McKinnie

When Bryant McKinnie was drafted by the Vikings in 2002, he held out until well into November, and it seemed like he had been playing catch up his whole time in Minnesota.

Speaking of that time, which could best be described as one of underachieving, well, it came to an end today. McKinnie reported to camp overweight, and was put on the non-football injury list by the team on Sunday, didn’t practice Monday, and was released today.

The move still comes as a shock, though. During the off-season, McKinnie tweeted that he was working on his conditioning with Serena Williams by playing tennis, and seemed to say all the right things about showing up ready to go for the 2011 season.

This is a bold move by new coach leslie Frazier, who is definitely doing things his way, and does not seem intimidated by the fact that he is a rookie head coach in the National Football League. He seemed to go against the conventional line of thinking by not cutting WR Bernard Berrian, and went out and traded for QB Donovan McNabb, who he was with when he was an assistant in Philadelphia.

After the Vikings added offensive lineman Charlie Johnson yesterday, it seemed like the team had addressed their depth issues along the line, but by cutting McKinnie today, those depth issues are now back, and there looks to be an open competition for the starting LT job on the offensive line.

Minnesota Vikings Bolster Offensive Line By Adding Charlie Johnson

Charlie Johnson has made his money the past two seasons by protecting Peyton Manning's blind side. Now, the Vikings hope that he can assist in protecting Donovan McNabb at some spot on the offensive line.

Minnesota signed Johnson today to a free agent contract, the terms of which have not been disclosed. The 6'4", 305-pound Johnson has played his entire five-year NFL career with the Colts since being drafted out of Oklahoma State with the 199th overall pick (sixth round) of the 2006 NFL Draft.

Though Johnson spent the last two years for the Colts playing left tackle, he also has experience at both guard spots and at right tackle. Certainly that versatility is part of what drew the Vikings to him, as with incumbent Anthony Herrera still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of the 2010 season, the Vikings' right guard spot is still in a bit of flux.

Then again, if Bryant McKinnie continues the way he's going, Johnson might have a shot at the left tackle spot after all. On Monday, the Vikings placed McKinnie on the non-football injury list with an "undisclosed ailment". . .which many people feel is a polite way of saying "showing up completely out of shape despite having six months to work out." That's a situation that will require some monitoring as the Vikings go through training camp.

Leslie Frazier Feels Minnesota Can Return To Top Of NFC North In 2011

The Minnesota Vikings went from first to worst in the NFC North the last two seasons. That’s life in the National Football League where games are decided by razor thin margins and rules are in place to establish competitive fairness across the league. The Vikings’ nose-dive cost Brad Childress his job, opening up the door for veteran defensive assistant Leslie Frazier to try his hand as a head coach for the first time.

After righting the ship down the stretch, Frazier and the Vikings look to rebound and compete for a playoff spot in ‘11. To do so, they’ll have to receive much better quarterback play than they did last season. Hence the trade for Donovan McNabb. Obviously McNabb isn’t considered the long-term solution; that’s where Christan Ponder comes into play. But McNabb could do just fine this year playing indoors and with Adrian Peterson. He’ll have to be better than just average though if the Vikings hope to return to the playoffs. The Chicago Bears look to be better and, of course, the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers won’t be an easy out.

Frazier sure sounds excited about his team’s chances at being solid. On Sunday, Frazier joined KFAN from training camp to talk about the start of camp and the Vikings’ outlook for 2011.

On the signing of Donovan McNabb:

“He was pretty excited about the opportunity. We had some discussions about a lot of different things that needed to be talked about. He was extremely excited about the opportunity to come to Minnesota with the players that we have around him. It didn’t take a whole lot of convincing.”

How concerned he is with McNabb’s struggles in Washington:

“I’ve had a chance to work with Donovan in the past. My first four years in the NFL as a coach and his first four years in the league as a player I was around him, watching his growth and saw what he did for our football team in Philadelphia and throughout his career. There were some bumps in the road in Washington and I didn’t get overly concerned or alarmed about what was happening. I feel like I know Donovan well, I know what his makeup is like, and also have an idea of what the problems were in Washington. I felt like for our football team and the circumstances that we were coming from this offseason he would be a good fit for what we needed to have done.”

On trying to get Chad Greenway and Adrian Peterson locked up long-term:

“Yeah we gotta get Chad taken care of, but Adrian is not far behind. It’s a priority to hopefully secure him in a long-term contract at some point. We will sit down with him and his agent and try to get that done sooner than later.”

Whether or not he believe Minnesota can win the division:

“No doubt about it. No doubt about it. That’s exactly what I’m gonna talk to our team about. I do believe we can win our division without question.”

(Transcription via: SportsRadioInterviews)

Christian Ponder Signs Four Year Contract

The Minnesota Vikings have signed top draft choice Christian Ponder to a four year deal, with a team option for a fifth.

Because of the new rookie wage scale, it’s for dramatically less money than past first round picks have received, but Ponder’s deal of 4 years and $11 million dollars is all guaranteed, which is a significant change from the past.

With the top two draft picks in the fold, the Vikings have also signed most of their draft picks. The only remaining draft picks left to sign are Iowa DL Christian Ballard (4th round), Utah defensive back Brandon Burton (5th round), Arkansas offensive lineman DeMarcus Love (6th round), and Ohio State linebacker Ross Homan (6th round).

The Vikings are also expected to get contract extensions for two veterans done, LB Chad Greenway and Superduperstar running back Adrian Peterson.

Players are expected to report to Mankato today, with team meetings scheduled. Tomorrow the first practices for the 2011 training camp begin.

Vikings Sign Kyle Rudolph To Contract, Continue Working On Remaining Draft Picks

With training camp set to open in Mankato for the 46th consecutive year on Monday, the Vikings have turned their attention to signing rookie draft picks.

The first one to sign on the dotted line was second round pick Kyle Rudolph, the big TE out of Notre Dame. Rudolph looks to be a big part of the offense moving forward, and getting him in on time and under the wing of Visanthe Shiancoe was of prime importance. But Rudolph was the only draft pick that was signed yesterday, leaving first round pick Christian Ponder still waiting to get his deal done.

With the new rookie wage scale, to say Ponder is a holdout is premature, because a reasonable person would expect that a deal would get done today. There’s very little wiggle room for negotiations, so contract parameters seem to be pretty well set.

In other news, the Vikings did come to terms with restricted free agents Erin Henderson and S Husain Abdullah. Henderson has been a good special teams player and backup, while Abdullah was one of the few players that played the safety position for the VIkings last year that wasn’t 100% terrible.

Vikings Add Former Atlanta Falcon Michael Jenkins To Receiving Corps

In the Minnesota Vikings' quest for a wide receiver this off-season, the fancies of many fans had turned to either James Jones, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, or Braylon Edwards, late of the New York Jets.

On Saturday afternoon, the Vikings signed. . .neither of them.

Instead, the team has reached a three-year agreement with wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Atlanta Falcons. This means that Jenkins is re-joining former Falcons' quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, who is the new offensive coordinator for the Vikings.

Jenkins was the Falcons' first round pick, the 29th overall selection, in the 2004 NFL Draft after playing his college ball at Ohio State University. The 6'4", 215-pound Jenkins has caught 276 passes in his career, for 3,512 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Vikings will officially start their 2011 training camp tomorrow in Mankato, and hopefully we will have updates of more rookie signings prior to the team getting on the field on Sunday.

Kyle Rudolph, Vikings Agree To Rookie Contract While Christian Ponder Remains Unsigned

The Minnesota Vikings signed second round pick Kyle Rudolph to his new rookie contract on Saturday, leaving just one first-year NFL player left to sign. That player however, first round pick Chris Ponder, remains unsigned heading into the opening of Monday’s training camp.

Rudolph, previously a standout tight end with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, tweeted a picture of himself signing the contract on Saturday while saying that he “Can’t thank Mr. Wilf, Mr. Brzezinski, Mr. Spielman and Coach Frazier enough for making me a Viking!”

ESPN 1500 reports that there are still a few later round draft picks that haven’t signed with the Vikings yet, but the big signing prior to Monday’s meeting in Mankato will be Ponder if it happens.

The Vikings’ trade for Donovan McNabb means there’s less pressure to get Ponder to camp in time for the first practice on Monday afternoon. But the Vikings also surely would like their top draft pick to get into meetings immediately and take the first-team snaps until McNabb is eligible to practice on Thursday.

No sense in falling behind, especially since the new Collective Bargaining Agreement all but forces agents hands to have their players sign a slotted deal rather than negotiate something on their own.

Ray Edwards Signs Free Agent Contract With Atlanta

Former Vikings DE Ray Edwards is on his way to the Ay-Tee-El, reportedly agreeing to a five year, $30 million ($11 million guaranteed).

Edwards had been a productive player for the Vikings, and after Carolina paid hostage ransom money for Charles Johnson, it seemed Edwards was in line to get a little Stockholm Syndrome off of Johnson’s payday, but Ray’s deal is significantly less.

It seemed like a reasonable contract, and one that the Vikings could have given for Edwards, so it seems that Minnesota didn’t want Ray to return, and that feeling was mutual. Edwards began complaining about his contract situation two years ago, and during the off-season he was adamant that he was not returning to Minnesota.

With Edwards now on his way to Atlanta, that means that come opening day the Vikings will be starting three new players on the defensive line, with Jared ALlen as the only player returning.

Vikings Announce Roster Moves

Today the Minnesota Vikings made several roster moves, besides the obvious ones of the McNabb trade, undrafted rookie signings, and free agent signings.

They signed two players, TE Ed Barham and RB Alexander Robinson, and released three, WR Freddie Brown, DT Jimmy Kennedy, and S Madieu Williams.

Kennedy announced his release on Tuesday via Twitter, and the move was mildly surprising until the team announced the signing of DT Remi Ayodele of the Saints. Brown became expendable with the signing of Devin Aromashodu, and with a salary north of $5 million due to an oft injured and mediocre Williams, this move wasn’t a surprise either. The Vikings had asked Williams to restructure his deal, and he refused. When that happened, you could see the writing on the wall for the 2010 NFL Walter Payton award winner.

One name that wasn’t on the list? Wide receiver Bernard Berrian. Berrian, like Williams, has a high cap number and low productivity, and it seems like he could also be a prime candidate for the Vikings to get under the mandated laegue salary cap of $120 million.

Vikings Sign NT, In The Mix For A Few WR's

It continues to be a busy day for the Minnesota Vikings. Fresh on the heels of finalizing the Donovan McNabb trade, the Vikings have signed what appears to be the replacement for Pat Williams.

According to various reports, former Saints NT Remi Ayodele (seriously, Vikes, it’s okay to sign a guy with an easy name to spell any time you want, just sayin’) has agreed to a contract reportedly worth $9 million over three years.

Ayodele has started 29 games over the last two seasons with the Saints, and has registered 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks over that time frame.  According to this tweet from Vikings beat guy Tom Pelissero, Pro Football Focus has him rated as only the 50th ranked DT in the NFL, but 25th against the run, which is an area the Vikings need to address.

The Vikings also need to add a WR due to the Seahawks signing of Sidney Rice last night. Currently, the two biggest names that are tied to the Vikings right now are Packer WR James Jones (see, now THAT’S a name that’s easy to spell) and former Browns and Jets WR Braylon Edwards. Both have reputations as guys that tend to drop balls, but as the #3 or 4 WR for the Packers, Jones had career highs in catches, yards, and TD’s last year (50, 679, and 5).

Edwards has had a troubled off the field career, but has been a farily productive guy on it. His best year was with the Browns in 2007, where he was an All-Pro and had 80 catches, almost 1300 receiving yards, and 16 TD’s. Last year, playing for the Browns and Jets, Edwards still managed over 900 yards receiving and 7 TD’s.

The Vikings still have not signed any of their draft picks, but most are reportedly in town, and negotiations will be conducted with them starting tomorrow, according to sources.

NFL Trade: Vikings, Redskins Formally Complete Deal For Donovan McNabb

After a couple of days of rumors and speculation, it appears that quarterback Donovan McNabb will be heading to the Minnesota Vikings after all.

It has been reported by numerous sources that the Vikings and the Washington Redskins have agreed to the parameters of a deal that woulds send McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings, both in terms of McNabb signing a new contract and what kind of compensation the Vikings would give to the Redskins for his services.

McNabb, who spent the first eleven seasons of his National Football League career with the Philadelphia Eagles before being traded to the Redskins prior to the 2010 season, is a six-time Pro Bowler. For his career, he has a completion percentage of just below 59%, but has thrown twice as many career touchdown passes (230) as interceptions (115). In his one season with the Redskins, he completed 58.3% of his passes for 3,377 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He was also benched by coach Mike Shanahan towards the end of the season, which paved the way for his exit from the nation's capital after just one season.

Terms of the contract that McNabb will sign have not been officially disclosed at this time.

The deal will be made official either Thursday or Friday.

NFL Free Agency: Ryan Longwell Agrees To Return To Minnesota Vikings

If the two contracts that Ryan Longwell has signed with the Minnesota Vikings are any indicator, one thing is for sure. . .the veteran kicker is getting better with age.

Longwell and the Vikings have agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth $12 million, with $3.5 million of that guaranteed. That means he's making more per year in his second contract with the Vikings than he did in his first deal, a 5-year, $10 million deal he signed with the team in 2006.

Since joining the Vikings, Longwell has converted 113 of 129 field goal attempts, an 87.6% clip, which places him among the most accurate kickers in the National Football League over that time. Last season, he made 17 out of 18 attempts.

It was thought that the Vikings might attempt to replace Longwell this season, but with the new kickoff rules that will spot the ball at the 35 rather than the 30-yard line should cancel out some of Longwell's shorter kickoffs. Longwell's accuracy, however, would be hard to replace, so the Vikings obviously felt it in their best interests to bring him back into the fold.

NFL Free Agency: Sidney Rice Chooses Seattle Seahawks Over Minnesota Vikings

Wide receiver Sidney Rice, who missed much of the 2010 season with a hip injury, has made his way out of Minnesota, as he will sign a lucrative free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks when free agency officially begins on Friday. The contract signing will be dependent on whether or not Rice passes his physical with Seattle.

The deal is rumored to be a five-year contract worth $41 million, with $18.5 million of that being guaranteed. That's a huge chunk of change for a guy with the propensity for getting injured that Rice has shown over the course of his four-year NFL career.

After being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Rice spent two injury-plagued seasons with the Vikings before breaking out in 2009. In that year, Rice hauled in 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdown receptions. However, he got injured during the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, and neglected to have surgery on it until August of 2010, causing him to miss the first nine games of Minnesota's season.

In the other three seasons he's played with Minnesota, Rice has just 63 total catches for 817 yards.

Minnesota Vikings Preseason Schedule Announced

The Minnesota Vikings are set to report to training camp in Mankato this coming Sunday. Just under two weeks after players report, Minnesota will begin its four-game preseason schedule on Saturday, August 13th when they travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. They then play their next two games exactly one week apart, before finishing up on Thursday, September 1st, ten days before they begin their regular season schedule on the 11th. As of now, no games are schedule to be nationally televised, but if the rumors of Donovan McNabb landing in Minnesota come to fruition, I wouldn't be surprised to see ESPN send a crew to Minneapolis for the third preeeason game against Dallas. The third game, of course, is typically the one where starters receive the most playing time. We'll see. Take a look at the quartet of games below

Vikings Sign WR Devin Aromashodu from the Bears

In the first foray of the 2011 free agency season that doesn’t involve cutting players or signing rookies that went undrafted, the Vikings addressed the WR position by signing WR Devin Aromashodu from the Chicago Bears.

Terms of the contract aren’t available at this time, but he is most assuredly cheaper than another former Bears WR, Bernard Berrian, who is scheduled to make over $6 million this year. Berrian will most likely have to restructure his contract or be released, as the Vikings will try and keep free agent WR Sidney Rice in the fold.

Aromashodu has had a fairly pedestrian career to this point, catching 41 passes for 543 yards and 4 TD’s. However, in a memorable Sunday night game against the Vikings in December of 2009, Aromashodu had his career best game, catching 7 passes for 150 yards and a TD, as the Bears held off a furious Vikings comeback to beat Minnesota in overtime, 36-30.

Aromashodu provides a bit of insurance for the Vikes, as the only established WR with any significant experience is Percy Harvin.

Oh, and because ’Aromashodui s so difficult to spell, his new Delta Tau Chi nickname is DA.

Another UDFA Signed, Veteran Released

In a mildly surprising move, the Minnesota Vikings have released DT Jimmy Kennedy, a productive backup for the Vikings the last two seasons, and have signed UDFA Derrick Locke, a RB from Kentucky.

Releasing Kennedy clears $2.5 million in cap space for the Vikings, who are still over by approximately that amount. Locke will probably compete for a special teams or third string RB slot, as the RB depth appears set with Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart.

Overview Of Minnesota Vikings Free Agents On Eve Of Free Agent Frenzy

What an exciting day it's been for the National Football League and its legion of loyal fans across the country. The lockout is officially over, training camps are set to start as early as Wednesday for some clubs, and on Tuesday morning, free agency will officially get underway. Before the madness begins, let's take one last look at the Vikings' free agent situation, specifically which guys who played on the squad in 2010 are currently not under contract and awaiting news about whether they'll be back in Minny or heading elsewhere to play in 2011.

Restricted Free Agents (three or more accrued NFL seasons)

Unrestricted free agents (four or more accrued NFL seasons)

Obviously there's some big names on the URFA list -- Ray Edwards, Pat Williams, Ben Lieber, Ryan Longwell, Sidney Rice (and if you're one to believe the most recent rumors, Brett Favre). You can count on the Vikings parting ways with one or more of these mainstays in the coming days, and as it almost always is, it will be tough for fans to say goodbye to players they've followed and rooted for over the years. But that's life in the NFL where the rules are intentionally structured to keep player movement high and the competitive balance fair.

Buckle up, just getting started folks!

Vikings Sign OSU's Torrance

the Vikings have signed their first undrafted free agent of 2011, apparently inking Ohio State defensive back DeVon Torrance to a rookie contract.

Torrance, a standout at with the Buckeyes, will compete at the safety position for the Vikings…where they need all the help they can get.

There is no truth to the rumor that part of Torrance’s signing bonus contained free tattoos and/or cars, not is there any truth that Torrance will be taking a pay cut as he transitions from Ohio State to the pros.

TImeline of the NFL Calendar

Over at Viking Update, Tim Yotter has given us a pretty comprehensive timeline for the next few weeks. Some highlights:

26 Jul: Teams can negotiate with and sign their own rookies and free agents. They may negotiate with, but not sign, free agents and rookies. But they can’t sign them. WAAAAAT?

27-29 Jul: Training Camp opens for 30 teams. On 27 July, teams may sign players they have extended offers to.

31 July: Vikings players arrive for camp

1 Aug: Vikings first practice

11 Aug: last Vikings training camp practive for Vikings that is open to fans

11-15 Aug: First weekend of pre-season games

Vikings Report To Mankato Sunday

The Minnesota Vikings have released an official statement regarding training camp in Mankato:

The Minnesota Vikings announced today the team will report to Minnesota State University, Mankato, on Sunday, July 31, for the 2011 Verizon Vikings Training Camp. With NFL owners and players reaching a labor agreement, the team informed officials from the community and the University that the Vikings will return to Mankato for the 46th consecutive year – the second-longest current training camp stretch in the NFL.

“We wanted to prolong our decision as long as possible in an effort to maintain our training camp tradition of practicing in front of Vikings fans in Mankato” said Vikings Owner and President Mark Wilf. “The Vikings appreciate the patience and flexibility shown by Minnesota State University and the Mankato community in making this work, and we look forward to returning to our training camp home in August.”

According to the Greater Mankato Convention & Visitors Bureau, approximately 60,000 fans from 28 states, Canada, England and over 100 different Minnesota cities attended last year’s training camp. The annual event has an estimated $5 million economic impact on the Mankato community.

“Hosting the Vikings training camp is an integral part of our community,” said Mankato Mayor Eric Anderson. “For two weeks, our hotels, restaurants and bars are filled with thousands of Vikings fans. The citizens and businesses of Mankato welcome those fans back in 2011 and moving forward.”

“We are thrilled the Vikings will be making the trip to Mankato this year,” said Minnesota State Mankato President Richard Davenport. “We greatly appreciate the Vikings willingness to leave the decision until the last possible moment. In doing so, the team made its commitment to the University very clear. We have been the home of the Vikings training camp for the past 45 years, and we want that to continue.”

The Vikings first training camp session open to the public will take place on Monday, August 1.

Vikings Set To Start Training Camp On Friday After NFL Lockout Is Lifted

The NFL Lockout is on the verge of being lifted, and we are going to get the NFL back into our lives very, very soon. How soon depends on which team you support, because the NFL will stagger when Training Camps being based on when teams play their first preseason games. The Vikings, according to Matt Pomeroy of the NFL network, will be one of the ten teams to kick off training camp on Friday.

So that means the Vikings will have to get a lot of business done before Friday comes around, and that includes bringing back some of their own free agents. We'll see how that plays out over the course of this week.