EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings are among a minority of NFL teams that still hold training camp away from their practice facility, and as they move through the final legislative steps before breaking ground on a new headquarters in Eagan, Minnesota, that's expected to include an 8,000-10,000 seat stadium, it's fair to wonder how many more years they will venture south to Mankato, Minnesota, for training camp.
The Vikings are scheduled to head back to Minnesota State for the 51st consecutive year next month, and their agreement with the school extends through the 2018 training camp. The new facility would open in 2018 at the earliest, and the Vikings could continue to train there if the head coach finds value in it. This year, though, it doesn't sound as though the Vikings will be spending much time in Mankato.
The team hasn't announced a detailed schedule beyond its July 28 reporting date and August 6 evening practice, but defensive end Everson Griffen said on Tuesday that the Vikings will only be in Mankato for 10 days. He confirmed what had been expected -- the Vikings will hold a couple days of joint practices with Mike Zimmer's former team in Cincinnati before the Vikings kick off the preseason against the Bengals on Aug. 12 -- and said the team has to make the most of its short stay.
"We're only down there for 10 days, so that's a blessing," Griffen said. "When we get to Mankato, the biggest thing we've got to do is work. ... You've got to work at your craft, you've got to work on situations, you've got to work on third downs, you've got to work on short yardage. You've got to work at each and every phase of the game to become great, and that's what we're doing."
In recent years, the Vikings have gone back to Mankato after their first preseason game for a few more days of camp, but the late start date to this year's preseason might make that difficult. The university starts classes on Aug. 22, and the Vikings typically have departed by the second week of August to make room for Minnesota State's football team.
Here are some other notes and observations from the first day of the team's mandatory minicamp:
Tuesday's practice saw Anthony Barr and Linval Joseph working for the first time this offseason, though both the linebacker and nose tackle were limited to individual drills and sat out of team work. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd again missed practice, as did guard Alex Boone, though Zimmer didn't sound worried about Boone being out. "We'd like to have everybody out there, but it shouldn't be a big deal," Zimmer said. "He's a pretty smart guy, even though he went to Ohio State."
With Boone out, Joe Berger worked with the first team offense at left guard, while John Sullivan was at center. Andre Smith got all of the first-team work at right tackle, though both Smith and Phil Loadholt have worked there during the Vikings' offseason program. Zimmer again cautioned not to read too much into depth charts at this point. "The one thing I want to be very careful to do -- and players know this, the coaches know this -- is, I don't want to evaluate guys in shorts and underwear," Zimmer said. "The game's played in pads. We're always evaluating guys, trying to get them better, but things can change once the pads come on (in training camp), and you've got to carry your pads, you've got to be a little more physical and things like that. I'm trying not to be an instant evaluator on anything."
The Vikings are hopeful they will be able to use Adrian Peterson in a broader range of situations this year, and Zimmer was particularly encouraged by two plays Peterson made Tuesday. "There was one play down in the red zone early that, I had not seen him make that cut before, and a lot of times, that's the one you hit big ones on," Zimmer said. "And then there was a play out of the (shot)gun later on that I thought he made an excellent read and cut."
Laquon Treadwell and Cordarrelle Patterson provided two of the highlights of the day with impressive one-handed catches; Treadwell hauled in a pass from Shaun Hill on a crossing route, and Patterson snared a bullet over the middle on a short throw late in the practice. The Vikings also got Patterson some brief work with the first-team offense.
