SB Nation Minnesota - Minnesota Vikings Rookies Head Into Training Camp Ready To Make Impact

2012 Vikings Offseason: Leslie Frazier Believes Rookies Will Play Big Roles

2012-07-15T15:44:39Z

After seeing his rookies in offseason OTAs and minicamps, Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier came away pleased with their progress and looking forward to seeing the youngsters compete in pads, says Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune.

The Vikings finished 3-13 last season, so left tackle Matt Kalil, the No. 4 overall selection out of USC, as well as former Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith, the No. 29 overall pick, will be immediate upgrades to Minnesota's personnel. Frazier also praised cornerback Josh Robinson, the team's third-rounder, and former Arkansas receivers Jarius Wright and Greg Childs.

Kalil's development will be crucial so that the Vikings can protect quarterback Christian Ponder, their first-round pick in 2011. Frazier says facing off against Jared Allen and Brian Robinson in pads in training camp can only help Kalil get better quickly.

Hartman mentions that Ponder did not have much practice time before last season began, so his first true offseason with the team could be an opportunity for the former Florida State Seminole to make a big leap.

All told, early playing time is readily available in Minneapolis.

For more on the Minnesota Vikings, check out the Daily Norseman, and head over to SBNation's NFL hub for all news and analysis.

Minnesota Vikings Announce 2012 Training Camp Schedule

2012-06-28T21:57:41Z

With the beginning of football season right around the corner, the Minnesota Vikings released their much-anticipated 2012 Verizon Vikings Training Camp schedule on Thursday afternoon.

Set to begin on Thursday, July 26 and run until Wednesday, August 15, the Vikings will work their way into a schedule of two-a-days throughout the week with morning walk-throughs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and full pad practices in the afternoon hours from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Morning autograph sessions will begin on Monday, July 30 with the tight end position, followed up by offensive lineman, linebackers, wide receivers, and defensive ends on each day respectively throughout the week. After Family Football Day on Saturday, August 4, autographs will resume with quarterbacks the following Monday.

Fans hoping to land an autograph from star tailback Adrian Peterson will have to get in line with the masses on August 8th for a jam-packed running back signing session. As always, those who miss out on certain players or aren't able to attend any of the earlier practices can join in the festivities on August 14th's Fan Appreciation Day, which is the second-to-last day before camp concludes.

For more on the Vikings, head over to Daily Norseman. For more NFL news and analysis, be sure to check out SB Nation's NFL hub.

2012 Vikings Offseason: Christian Ponder Looking To Improve In Sophomore Season

2012-06-22T13:19:32Z

A big improvement from QB Christian Ponder is going to be needed if the Minnesota Vikings want to improve their fortunes in 2012 after one of the worst seasons in a long time back in 2011.

Fortunately, Ponder had been working hard to bulk up and improve his game before mini-camps opened, and it seemed to work out well enough. Ponder increased his weight from 212 to about 230 as he looks to avoid a repeat of his injury plagued rookie season.

He's worked on improving a lot of his game, and Leslie Frazier has been impressed by his progress, though as with most sophomore quarterbacks there is still work to be done:

Frazier said the game has clearly slowed a bit for Ponder, who is doing a better job with pre-snap reads. "He's improving, but he has a ways to go for some of the things we want to do with him," he said.

His own growth along with his ability to get good chemistry with all of his new receivers including Jerome Simpson will determine how the offense rolls this season for the Vikings. Of course, after last year, it can't really get much worse:

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder was asked Thursday if he feared a sophomore slump.

"I had a freshman year slump last year," he joked. "I don't think it can get any worse."

More on Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings can be found over at The Daily Norseman. More news and analysis on everything around the NFL can be found over at SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.

Percy Harvin Not Holding Out After All

2012-06-21T22:42:27Z

If Percy Harvin was supposed to hold out, some one might want to tell Percy Harvin. The Vikings wide receiver said he didn't know where the reports came from and has no plans to hold out.

I'm really clueless on the crazy reports...had great prac today ....to all my real fans and real vikes fans see u at Mankato..salute
— Percy Harvin (@Percy_Harvin) June 21, 2012

Whether Harvin actually was unaware of where the reports came from or not is unclear, but it appears as though he will be in training camp when it begins.

For the Vikings, it is one more unnecessary distraction that the team was able to avoid as it prepares to recover from a disastrous 2011.

More on Percy Harvin and the Minnesota Vikings can be found over at The Daily Norseman. More news and analysis on everything around the NFL can be found over at SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.

Vikings Have No Interest In Trading Percy Harvin, General Manager Says

2012-06-20T23:33:22Z

On Wednesday afternoon, Minnesota Vikings management made it clear that the organization has no interest in trading disgruntled wide receiver Percy Harvin. Harvin came out on Tuesday insinuating that he was going to holdout if unspecified "issues" weren't resolved, prior to requesting a trade on Wednesday.

The Vikings have no plans to honor the request.

Via ESPN 1500:

"We have no interest at all in trading Percy Harvin," [general manager Rick] Spielman told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, one day after Harvin said he's unhappy about multiple issues and hours after news broke the dynamic receiver has requested a trade.

Harvin was present at morning practice on Wednesday but failed to report to the team's afternoon practice, which means the club can fine him $30,000 unless they decide to excuse him.

Regardless, Spielman made it clear that Harvin is an important member of the team and the management wants to keep him in a Vikings uniform.

"He's a key part of our organization," Spielman said. "He's a key part of our football team, and any issues that are out there or reported, we always handle those internally and will continue to handle those internally.

"We've had a very good offseason. I know our players have worked and coaches have worked extremely hard and look forward to everybody getting down to Mankato (for training camp) and having a great season coming up."

More on Percy Harvin and the Minnesota Vikings can be found over at The Daily Norseman. More news and analysis on everything around the NFL can be found over at SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.

A Percy Harvin Trade Appears Unlikely Given His Importance To Vikings

2012-06-20T17:10:24Z

The Percy Harvin situation is certainly a point of focus for the Minnesota Vikings. He's essentially the team's top receiving target, and a definite catalyst for Christian Ponder's development in his second year. First, Harvin was just talking about holding out in lieu of the Vikings solving some issues that the young receiver has with the organization. But now he's asked for a trade, as of Wednesday morning.

It's debatable whether or not the team would trade Harvin, but it certainly doesn't seem very likely. From the Vikings' standpoint, it wouldn't make sense to trade him at all. As SB Nation's Vikings blog, Daily Norseman points out, Harvin is a big part of Minnesota's offense:

You just don't trade a guy that was 25% of your offense on a 3-13 club. Because with the offense in it's current state, there is no value that the Vikings could receive in return that would constitute a 'good trade'. In the running game, Adrian Peterson is coming off of a devastating knee injury and could very well end up on the PUP list for the first 6 weeks of the season. Toby Gerhart is good, but Harvin and Gerhart could be a Thunder and Lightning combination that could be tantalizingly good until AP returns.

They also go on to note that this is the first real test for general manager Rick Spielman. He hasn't had to put an issue to rest yet. He's had a draft under his watch and oversaw free agency, but there's not a crisis of any kind that he's had to deal with just yet.

That said, they're confident that Spielman is the guy to get things done. The prevailing theory is that a new contract will solve things for Harvin. It's hard to argue against that, especially given the fact that Harvin is set to make just under a million dollars this season and is still playing on his rookie contract. He's under contract until 2014, but a holdout would certainly hurt the Vikings, especially with Jerome Simpson suspended.

For more on the Minnesota Vikings, go to Daily Norseman. You can also get all of your professional football news over at SB Nation's NFL hub.

Vikings Mini-Camp 2012: Minnesota's Roster Filled With Youth

2012-06-20T14:42:58Z

The Minnesota Vikings got a bit of a jolt on Tuesday when Percy Harvin shook things up with talks of a holdout and perhaps even a trade if he gets his way, but there's plenty more to talk about in the mini-camps for the Vikings than Harvin's need to let everyone know his problems with the team.

Specifically, there is a bunch of youth filling the 90 man roster as we head into day two of the mini-camps for Minnesota. Health is good for the team right now too, with only one player missing from the 90 man roster on the first day. Without pads, the coaching staff is checking out the influx of new talent on all levels, specifically in what head coach Leslie Frazier is calling 'pressure situations'.

"Put them in stressful situations, see how they respond," coach Leslie Frazier said Tuesday, June 19. "Until we get the pads on in Mankato, you have to be careful of passing judgment. But we're trying to do some things to see where they are mentally."

It should prove to be an interesting group of camps for the Vikings with so much new blood around. Hoepfully, the Harvin problem gets solved quickly as well, so the Vikings can have one of their biggest stars happy during the first real tests of the off-season.

For more Vikings 2012 mini-camp coverage, stay with this StoryStream. For more on the Vikings, head over to Daily Norseman.

Percy Harvin Requests Trade: Vikings Receiver Unhappy In Minnesota

2012-06-20T13:26:52Z

The Minnesota Vikings were fairly sure that Percy Harvin was going to be at their training camps despite talks of a holdout from the young, star receiver. Unfortunately, Harvin has now made it clear that he's not expecting to be there, and doesn't really want to be either.

It was announced on Tuesday morning by several different sources that Harvin had requested a trade from the Vikings, a somewhat surprising development:

APNewsBreak: Percy Harvin has requested a trade from the #Vikings.
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) June 20, 2012

It had been hinted in the past few days that Harvin was considering a holdout, but trade talk was never really in the books. The Vikings will most likely not grant his request, but it's still a strong step to be taking for Harvin, who has said he has issues with the Vikings:

Harvin said yesterday he had several issues with the team. League sources say Harvin has requested a trade, but doubtful it's granted.
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) June 20, 2012

There will surely be more on this story released throughout the day as the team reacts to their young star's want to get out.

More on Percy Harvin and the Minnesota Vikings can be found over at The Daily Norseman. More news and analysis on everything around the NFL can be found over at SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub.