
The Vikings are getting ready for preseason game number one this Saturday. They'll host the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium at 3:00 p.m.
All eyes will surely be on the new Vikings quarterback. After sitting out his rookie year with a knee injury, J.J. McCarthy is fully healthy and the starter heading into the season. While most NFL starters in this era don't play much - or at all - in the preseason, McCarthy will get some time on the field according to head coach Kevin O'Connell.
As the Vikings get ready to get off the practice field and into the game, the WCCO Morning News caught up with St. Paul Pioneer Press beat reporter Dane Mizutani who provides a few answers to preseason questions and more.
Wide receiver Jordan Addison has been suspended three games for violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. He pleaded to a lesser charge in California avoiding a DUI, but the NFL still handed down the suspension. How will that affect the Viking offense early on?
Mizutani: I think that was what everyone was kind of expecting. It's kind of the standard for an offense like Jordan's from his July 24, 2024 arrest. So the Vikings aren't surprised by the length of the suspension. I think probably internally, they've been preparing for three games without Jordan Addison to start the season.
So what you do hope is that Justin Jefferson's hamstring injury calms down and that he can get back to training camp. They'll lean on Justin Jefferson, they'll lean on Jalen Nailor, who's had a really good camp in my opinion. And then remember TJ Hockenson. He didn't start last season, he didn't play till November. I think you'll see a lot of reps for him, a lot of targets for him. So they're gonna piece it together with Jordan out. They'd love to have Jordan on the field, but this is kind of the consequence of your actions. Jordan has, to his credit, confronted it head on.
Speaking of Justin Jefferson, how is he healing from his latest hamstring injury?
Mizutani: I don't know exactly a timeline because Kevin O'Connell won't give us a timeline. I know they're being super cautious with him with the goal of, 'let's get him ready for the regular season, let's not risk anything for that.' All I can do is report what my eyes are seeing and I saw him at the night practice jogging around, smiling big, joking with Kevin O'Connell. Sure doesn't look like, to me, a guy who's gonna miss a prolonged period of time. So I expect him back sooner rather than later. I don't want to throw this out there and then have it get aggregated, but I would assume the Vikings probably want to see him at joint practices just because , they care so much about those. We'll see if the hamstring cooperates in time for him to be back for those against the Patriots next week. But I have zero concerns about Justin Jefferson being ready for the week one opener in Chicago. I don't think the Vikings do either.
Back to the guy throwing the football. How does J.J. McCarthy look so far?
Mizutani: Yeah, it's been up and down, but I mean, to be expected from a 22-year-old kid, especially a kid who has to go up against a (Defensive Coordinator) Brian Flores defense every single day in practice. So, I think if the defense was a little more vanilla, J.J. McCarthy would look a little more consistently better but these are the days of training camp that are kind of getting him ready, building that armor for him to be prepared once the regular season rolls around. So, I can't sit here and say, A+, he's been perfect. Because he hasn't. There have been some struggles here and there, but I think he's been good enough so far to be able to project a consistent growth throughout the season. I don't see any issues with how this offense is gonna function with him leading it. His arm strength is there, his touch needs some work, but I like his decision making. I like his command of the offense, and I just like where he's headed after taking a year off. I think it takes some time to get that feel back. I think we'll probably see it, a better looking J.J. McCarthy, each practice, each week, each month. I think the growth will be steady, but to me, he's looked good so far. I don't have any concerns with him.
Are there concerns about backup quarterback Sam Howell though? It seems that way from comments head coach Kevin O'Connell has offered up, saying he didn't seem ready?
Mizutani: Yeah, it's up and down with Sam Howell as well. The roller coaster has been a little bit more aggressive for Sam Howell. The lows have been lower, and the highs have not necessarily been as frequent. He looks sometimes a little paralyzed with thought back there in the pocket. He looks sometimes a little tentative to rip it down the field. I want to give him some grace and understanding that this offense is hard to learn, and he's still probably in the phases of trying to put it all together. But at a certain point, he needs to perform out there. There are times in practice where they can't really run a second team offense because Sam Howell's too clunky out there in the pocket. So this will be a big week for him, you know, starting today where they're preparing for the preseason game, into next week at joint practices. He needs to show improvement, otherwise I don't know if the Vikings can trust him to be their backup quarterback.
The thing there is that there's not a lot of options at backup quarterback right now, and Sam Howell has been in the room. So unless they bring someone in quickly, I think it might just be his job for now. But yes, you certainly want some improvement. To me, he hasn't been good enough.
Another quarterback is on the training camp roster and he's a former Gopher. How about Max Brosmer?
Mizutani: I like him. I really do. He impressed me last year. To me, he's the best quarterback the Gophers have had in a decade. Adam Weber is probably the only one in the conversation. But Max Brosmer is not ready to be the Vikings' backup quarterback yet. At least with where the Vikings hope to take this season. I don't know if they can say, 'yeah, Max Brosmer is one snap away for us.' So, I like him, I think his growth is there, I think there is a potential down the road for him to be the backup quarterback of this team, maybe in one, two, three years. But I don't know, with the season this important, with the goal so high, if you can really put your trust into an undrafted free agent to be the guy who's one snap away from J.J. McCarthy. I like where he's at. I think his future in the NFL could be bright. I think he's learning and I think he's impressed a lot of people in the room. But I would be pretty stunned if, if he was the backup quarterback week one.
The Vikings regular season kicks off on Monday Night Football this year. They'll be at the Chicago Bears, 7:15 p.m. kickoff from Soldier Field on ESPN.