DAILY CLIPS

TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020

LOCAL NEWS: Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Star Tribune

Vikings' head trainer tests positive for coronavirus By Ben Goessling https://www.startribune.com/vikings-head-trainer-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-four-rookies-placed-on-covid-19- reserve-list/571920812/

Frequently asked questions about Vikings training camp By Andrew Krammer https://www.startribune.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-vikings-training-camp/571926762/

Pioneer Press

Vikings trainer tests positive for coronavirus; top draft pick among four players put on reserve list By Chris Tomasson https://www.twincities.com/2020/07/27/vikings-trainer-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-top-draft-pick-justin-jefferson- among-four-players-put-on-reserve-list/

The Athletic

Vikings head trainer’s positive COVID-19 test a reminder of what NFL is facing By Chad Graff https://theathletic.com/1956478/2020/07/27/vikings-eric-sugarman-covid-19-test-justin-jefferson-reserve-list/

Ten things: A football nerd’s guide to the 2020 By Sheil Kapadia https://theathletic.com/1947676/2020/07/27/ten-things-a-football-nerds-guide-to-the-2020-minnesota-vikings/

Vikings 53-man roster projection 2.0: Who’s in and who’s out as camp begins By Chad Graff and Arif Hasan https://theathletic.com/1954547/2020/07/27/vikings-53-man-roster-projection-2-0-whos-in-and-whos-out-as-camp- begins/

Skor North

Zulgad: Five pressing topics facing the Vikings’ offense as training camp gets set to open By Judd Zulgad https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/zulgad-five-pressing-topics-facing-the-vikings-offense-as-training-camp-gets-set- to-open/

First-round pick Justin Jefferson among four Vikings placed on COVID-19 list By Judd Zulgad https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/first-round-pick-justin-jefferson-among-four-vikings-placed-on-covid-19-list/

No Pack No: Could Everson Griffen end up signing with Green Bay? By Judd Zulgad https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/no-pack-no-could-everson-griffen-end-up-signing-with-green-bay/

Vikings head athletic trainer tests positive for COVID-19 By Judd Zulgad https://www.skornorth.com/2020/07/vikings-head-athletic-trainer-tests-positive-for-covid-19/

Purple Insider

Camp countdown: Breaking down the top training camp storylines By Matthew Coller https://purpleinsider.substack.com/p/camp-countdown-breaking-down-the

NATIONAL NEWS: Tuesday, July 28, 2020

ESPN

Minnesota Vikings trainer/infection control officer tested positive for coronavirus By Courtney Cronin https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29548019/minnesota-vikings-trainer-infection-control-officer-tested-positive- coronavirus

CBS Sports

Vikings head athletic trainer tests positive for COVID-19; he's had no recent contact with players, per team By Tyler Sullivan https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-head-athletic-trainer-tests-positive-for-covid-19-hes-had-no-recent- contact-with-players-per-team/

Vikings first-round pick Justin Jefferson among multiple NFL players placed on reserve/COVID-19 list By Bryan DeArdo https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-first-round-pick-justin-jefferson-among-multiple-nfl-players-placed-on- reservecovid-19-list/

USA Today

Minnesota Vikings infection control officer Eric Sugarman tests positive for COVID-19 By Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/vikings/2020/07/27/minnesota-vikings-infection-control-officer-eric- sugarman-covid-coronavirus/5519898002/

NFL.com

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson among players on reserve/COVID-19 list By Nick Shook https://www.nfl.com/news/vikings-place-justin-jefferson-three-more-on-reserve-covid-19-list

NFC North training camp preview: Packers aim to repeat; Vikings reload By Grant Gordon https://www.nfl.com/news/nfc-north-training-camp-preview-packers-aim-to-repeat-vikings-reload

Associated Press

Vikings’ infection control officer tests positive for COVID By Dave Campbell https://apnews.com/64658d56d3fb6684df852a0a472c9fb4

Maven Media

Three Vikings Have Made the NFL Top 100 Players Ranking So Far By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/three-vikings-nfl-top-100-players-ranking-cousins

Vikings Infection Control Officer Eric Sugarman Tests Positive For COVID-19 By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/vikings-infection-control-officer-eric-sugarman-tests-positive-covid-19

The Packers Have Interest in Former Vikings DE Everson Griffen By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/packers-interested-former-vikings-everson-griffen

Four Vikings Rookies, Including Justin Jefferson, Placed on Reserve/COVID-19 List By Will Ragatz https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/four-vikings-rookies-justin-jefferson-reserve-covid-19-list

MULTIMEDIA NEWS: Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Never-Before-Seen Footage From The Vikings' 2020 Virtual Draft Room By Vikings Entertainment Network https://www.vikings.com/video/never-before-seen-footage-from-the-vikings-2020-virtual-draft-room

Top 100 Players of 2020: | No. 58 By NFL Network https://www.vikings.com/video/top-100-players-of-2020-kirk-cousins-no-58

Top 100 Players of 2020: Harrison Smith | No. 64 By NFL Network https://www.vikings.com/video/top-100-players-of-2020-harrison-smith-no-64

Dales Outlines Challenges Facing Zimmer, Vikings Heading Into Training Camp By NFL Network https://www.vikings.com/video/dales-outlines-challenges-facing-zimmer-vikings-heading-into-training-camp

Sugarman Tests Positive By KSTP http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=2bd877d7-981a-4765-a3cf-3a98dd4939da

Vikings Head Trainer in Quarantine By KARE http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=1298c4d9-aa19-488b-bfd5-9f6f06bf222e

Positive Test for Vikings Infection Control Officer By KMSP http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=3ad7391c-fb1d-448c-b01a-dce2ff201ab7

Jefferson on COVID-19 List By WCCO http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=ec9be8de-b1ad-482e-b947-f0d09ba0a90a

VIKINGS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK: Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Kirk Cousins Climbs to No. 58 in NFL Network's 'Top 100' By Craig Peters https://www.vikings.com/news/kirk-cousins-nfl-top-100-no-58

Harrison Smith Named to NFL Network's 'Top 100' for 5th Straight Year By Eric Smith https://www.vikings.com/news/harrison-smith-nfl-top-100-5th-straight-year

Lunchbreak: CBA Adjustments to Include Increased Practice Squad, 'Ramp-Up' Period By Lindsey Young https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-nfl-cba-adjustments-practice-squad-ramp-up-period

PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings' head trainer tests positive for coronavirus

By Ben Goessling

A day before Vikings veterans were scheduled to report to training camp, the team announced Monday that head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman — who is also in charge of the team’s COVID-19 prevention strategy as its infection control officer — has tested positive for the virus.

The team said in a statement that Sugarman and family members, who also tested positive for the virus over the weekend, are in self-quarantine. The Vikings tested the people who were in close contact with Sugarman, and they found no additional cases in the front office and added that no players have been in contact with Sugarman.

“Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts,” the Vikings said.

Sugarman had been going through regular coronavirus testing, which started last week as the Vikings prepare for training camp, but he and his family took an additional test last week that revealed the positive result.

“At this time we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms,” Sugarman said of his wife and two sons in the team’s statement.

The Vikings placed four rookies — first-round pick Justin Jefferson, sixth-rounder , seventh-rounder Brian Cole and undrafted free agent Tyler Higby — on the league’s new COVID-19 reserve list, after the players were found either to have tested positive for the virus or been in close contact with someone who had.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS Eric Sugarman, the Vikings’ infection control officer, demonstrated recently how training rooms will be cleaned. Rookies reported Thursday and took two coronavirus tests in a four-day span before Monday’s announcement.

The NFL prohibits teams from disclosing whether a player is on the reserve list because he tested positive or had contact with a carrier of the virus, but it’s believed the four players did not come in contact with Sugarman.

“As I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate,” Sugarman said in his statement. “It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally.”

His positive test result does not change the team’s plans for veterans, who remain scheduled to report Tuesday to begin a four-day period that includes three coronavirus tests before physicals begin on Saturday. The NFL Players Association approved the Vikings’ Infectious Disease Emergency Response plan Monday afternoon.

“Eric will continue to fulfill his role as the team’s ICO virtually as much as possible, and his athletic training staff and other Vikings personnel will assist where necessary,” the team said in its statement. “We wish Eric and his family a quick and full recovery and look forward to him returning to the Vikings when appropriate.’’

Jefferson, Brandel, Cole and Higby were among a group of roughly 40 players who reported Thursday as rookies, quarterbacks and players rehabbing from injury arrived at training camp.

Players who test positive for COVID-19 must stay away from the team for 10 days, including three consecutive days without symptoms. Asymptomatic players who test positive can return after five days if they pass two coronavirus tests. PUBLICATION: Star Tribune DATE: 7/28/20

Frequently asked questions about Vikings training camp

By Andrew Krammer

All NFL veterans will have reported to training camp by Tuesday. For Vikings players that won’t mean much more than a swab up the nose and a virtual meeting with coaches, but there are many questions about how the NFL, and the Vikings, are preparing for the 2020 season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Q What will happen Tuesday when players report?

A Most Vikings players are scheduled to arrive at TCO Performance Center in Eagan on Tuesday, but they won’t be allowed in the building. They’ll walk into a BioReference Laboratories trailer in the parking lot. At one of four stations, they will undergo a nasal swab coronavirus test and be given the option of having an antibody test via blood sample. They’ll go home, await results and participate in virtual meetings with coaches.

Under testing protocols finalized over the weekend, players will need three negative test results in four days before entering team facilities on the fifth day, which would be Saturday. The fifth and sixth days of camp are for physicals and equipment, followed by an eight-day strength and conditioning period.

Q What happens if someone on the team tests positive for the coronavirus?

A All players and Vikings employees who test positive or come in close contact with an infected person must be quarantined. Players will be placed on the league’s COVID-19 reserve list, as receiver and first-round draft pick Justin Jefferson and three other rookies were on Monday.

A contact tracing report, from tracking devices worn by everyone while at the team facility, will identify those who came within “close contact,” defined by the league as “within six feet for about 10 minutes” or “direct physical contact during practice.” Those people must also be quarantined and aren’t allowed in the building until testing negative. A 24-hour return from the reserve list is possible if a player is cleared as part of contact tracing.

Q When can players return after a positive test?

A Symptomatic cases require at least a 10-day quarantine, including three days after last symptoms. An asymptomatic player can return in five days if he twice tests negative, otherwise he’s out at least 10 days.

Q Can a coach work remotely after testing positive?

A No. Quarantine extends to coaches, too, and coaching from isolation is not allowed.

Q Can players opt out of the season?

A Yes. A two-tier system separates players with qualified high-risk medical conditions who choose to opt out and those without medical reasons. High-risk players are eligible for a $350,000 stipend. Their contracts would roll over into next year, but they’d still earn an accrued season. High-risk conditions include cancer, asthma, COPD, sickle cell disease and hypertension. If requested, teams must offer new housing to players who live with high-risk family or friends.

A player who opts out voluntarily is eligible for $150,000 if he earned an accrued season in 2019 or is a 2020 draft pick. But the money is an advance against future earnings from the player’s contract.

Players will have seven days after the NFL and NFLPA officially sign all adjustments to the collective bargaining agreement to decide whether to opt out.

Q Do sick players get paid?

A Yes, unless the player fell ill because of “high-risk conduct,” which is outlined later. Players who test positive during “entry” tests for camp will have their illness deemed a non-football injury, which allows teams not to pay full salary. Positive results after entry tests will be treated as football-related injuries.

Q How accurate are these coronavirus tests?

A The polymerase chain reaction tests are touted as 95% accurate, according to BioReference Laboratories, which is running testing operations for the NFL, NBA and MLS. A 24-hour turnaround is expected for results, according to the NFL.

Q When do practices start?

A There’s a slow build to full practices. An eight-day strength and conditioning period, designed to acclimate players after offseason workouts were canceled, allows players onto the field for position drills. The weight room is limited to 15 people. Starting Aug. 12, two-a-day sessions begin in helmets and shorts. Full-padded practices begin Aug. 17.

Week 1 of preseason games would have been Aug. 13-15, but all exhibitions were canceled.

Q Are there still preseason rosters?

A Yes, even without a preseason. But all 90 players won’t wear pads. NFL rosters must be trimmed to 80 players by Aug. 16 — a day before the first padded practice — to better accommodate league rules limiting capacity of team facilities to 80 players at once. The regular-season cutdown date to 53 players is Sept. 5. The next day, teams can begin filling practice squads that increased to a maximum of 16 players from 12.

Q Do players have strict safety guidelines to follow during their personal time?

A Yes. The NFL has barred players from attending indoor nightclubs, bars, concerts, professional sporting events (other than their own) and house parties with more than 15 people, or churches at more than 25% capacity. Players can be punished, potentially severely, for committing this “high-risk conduct,” including being fined and not paid for games they miss if they test positive.

Q What protocols are in place for road games?

A The Vikings, like every other NFL team, need to downsize their traveling party. The NFL is requiring no more than 50% capacity on team buses and an open seat between every person on team flights. When in on road trips, public and private transportation are not allowed, nor is leaving the hotel to go to a restaurant. Players also can’t have hotel visitors or use shared facilities.

Q Do players get paid if the season is canceled?

A If the season is canceled before roster cutdowns, veterans who earned a 2019 accrued season, as well as 2020 draft picks, get $250,000 and NFL health insurance. All other players get $50,000. If the season is canceled after roster cutdowns, players on the active roster get $300,000 offset by any base salary earned up to that point. Practice squad players get $100,000 offset by salary earned. All rostered players would get health insurance and get to keep bonuses and salary earned.

Q The Jets and Giants aren’t allowed to have fans at home games this year. What about the other 30 teams?

A The NFL has allowed teams to make individual decisions regarding fans at games, based on federal and local guidelines. The league did mandate tarping off the first eight rows of every stadium for distancing purposes, and said any fans allowed would be required to wear masks.

The Vikings warned season-ticket holders in a letter this month of likely “significantly reduced capacity,” if any crowds at all, at U.S. Bank Stadium, giving fans the option to opt out of tickets for a refund or 2021 credit.

Q How will future salary caps be affected?

A The league’s revenue shortfall will be spread across the 2021-2024 salary caps, with this year’s cap untouched. The NFL will have a salary floor of $175 million for next season, but it could be higher if revenue exceeds projections. This year’s cap was $198.2 million. Players with less financial security than Kirk Cousins, who has a guaranteed $31 million cap hit next year, will feel the pinch when the Vikings need to balance the books. PUBLICATION: Pioneer Press DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings trainer tests positive for coronavirus; top draft pick Justin Jefferson among four players put on reserve list

By Chris Tomasson

A day before the team’s veteran players report to training camp on Tuesday, the Vikings announced that Eric Sugarman, their athletic trainer and infection control officer, has tested positive for coronavirus and that four rookies have been put on the team’s COVID-19 reserve list, including first-round pick Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings said Monday that Sugarman and members of his family tested positive over the weekend, and Sugarman said in a statement they all have “mild symptoms.”

Rookies put on the reserve list were Jefferson, a wide receiver taken with the No. 22 pick in the first round, tackle Blake Brandel, a sixth-round selection, safety Brian Cole II, a seventh-round pick, and tackle Tyler Higby, who signed as an undrafted free agent.

Players placed on the reserve list either tested positive for coronavirus or have been quarantined after being in close proximity to someone infected, but teams are not permitted to disclose which category any player is in. A Vikings official said none of the players was infected by Sugarman. A source anticipated the players would be quarantined in the neighborhood of five to 10 days.

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“Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts,” the Vikings said in a statement. “Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their well-being. We have followed the team’s protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric. Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines.”

The statement said Sugarman “has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time.”

Vikings rookies, quarterbacks and select veteran players reported for camp last Thursday, and none will be allowed into the TCO Performance Center until after having had two negative coronavirus tests. Testing began with those players last Thursday.

After reporting Tuesday, veteran players will begin similar testing procedures. The soonest any would be allowed into the facility would be this weekend.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, each NFL team has been required to name an infection control officer. Sugarman, in his 15th season with the Vikings, was given that role. He held a conference call July 20 with media members to discuss how the team will handle the pandemic.

Sponsored Video by Advertising Partner “This weekend my family and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Sugarman said in a statement Monday. “We immediately quarantined and began to follow the established protocols. At this time, we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms.

RELATED ARTICLES Vikings’ Mike Zimmer, 64, ‘blessed’ to get contract extension considering ‘my age’ Mike Zimmer says will report Tuesday to Vikings camp but there’s still some drama Vikings make Mike Zimmer’s three-year contract extension official Questions surround retooled Vikings entering start of training camp Vikings’ says he ‘wouldn’t be in the NFL’ had he faced challenges undrafted players have now “I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months. I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career.”

On last week’s conference call, Sugarman talked about how the virus does not discriminate. He reiterated that in his statement.

“As I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate,” he said. “It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally. At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery. I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols.”

The Vikings announced that Sugarman will continue to fulfill his role as the team’s infection control officer virtually as much as possible, and that the athletic training staff and other Vikings personnel will assist where necessary.

The Vikings have 87 players on the roster, although the four on the reserve list don’t count against the 90-man limit. The Vikings must be down to 80 players in training camp unless they decide to break the squad into two groups. If they take that route, they must be down to 80 by Aug. 16, the day before padded practices can start.

Players will be tested for coronavirus daily at least through the first two weeks of camp. After the initial tests and after physicals are taken, players will have an acclimation period from Aug. 3-11 and a gradual ramp-up period from Aug. 12-16. Padded practices can begin Aug. 17, leading up to Minnesota’s opener against Green Bay on Sept. 13 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The pandemic wiped out on-field spring drills, so the NFL is taking a gradual approach of having players get back into shape. All preseason games already have been canceled. PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings head trainer’s positive COVID-19 test a reminder of what NFL is facing

By Chad Graff

Last Monday, Eric Sugarman spent time on a Zoom call with reporters walking through a Powerpoint that outlined all the Vikings were going to do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they prepared to welcome players back to the team’s headquarters for the start of training camp.

The team’s athletic trainer had been appointed its “infection control officer” and was now showing all that had been done in his new role. Sugarman showed pictures of the locker room, now more spaced out, and meeting rooms with chairs removed to allow for proper social distancing. He showed a helmet accessory that players could wear over their mouth to try to stop the spread of germs and the digital thermometer that would take the temperature of anyone who entered the building. He showed the goody bags that would be delivered to any player quarantining after a positive COVID-19 test and the Nerf-like sanitation gun that sprayed disinfectant onto training tables. But, in the midst of that demonstration, Sugarman provided a stark reminder of the reality of resuming activities amid a global pandemic.

“We’re going to have people that get COVID,” Sugarman said. “It’s unavoidable.”

Seven days later, on the eve of training camp officially beginning, the Vikings announced that Sugarman had tested positive for COVID. Other members of his family tested positive too, the team announced. They are experiencing “mild symptoms.”

“I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months,” Sugarman said in a statement Monday. “I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally.”

The announcement came hours before the Vikings revealed that they’d placed four rookies on the reserve/COVID list, a designation for players who either test positive for COVID or who were in close contact with an infected person.

First-round pick Justin Jefferson, offensive tackle Blake Brandel, safety Brian Cole, and offensive lineman Tyler Higby were placed on the reserve/COVID list, though teams don’t disclose whether that’s because they tested positive or were in contact with someone who did.

Still, the Vikings plunge forward with plans for more than half the team to report to the team’s headquarters Tuesday. Around 40 players reported last week for the start of camp, which begins with two different rounds of testing. Now four players are on the reserve/COVID list.

It paints a grim picture of the reality of returning for training camp, and underscores the difficulty in the task. The team’s announcements came on the same day Major League Baseball had to postpone games because of a COVID outbreak on the Miami Marlins just four days into their season.

“The health and safety of every member of our organization, our fans and of the broader community is paramount,” the Vikings wrote in a statement. “We encourage everyone to take this virus seriously and to practice the established precautions.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if more players were added to the reserve/COVID list at the end of the week when test results return for the players who report on Tuesday. Just before reporting for training camp, Jefferson had been training with multiple Vikings players in Minnesota, including Adam Thielen.

But such is the new normal amid a pandemic that has altered (but not stopped) the league’s plans for a season. As Sugarman said last week, if they plan on returning for training camp, people will get COVID.

“At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery,” Sugarman said in the statement. “I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols.” PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 7/28/20

Ten things: A football nerd’s guide to the 2020 Minnesota Vikings

By Sheil Kapadia

Editor’s note: Prior to the start of the season, Sheil Kapadia will provide in-depth analytical breakdowns for all 32 NFL teams. You can find the teams he’s already covered here.

In many ways, the Minnesota Vikings’ approach to the offseason took a great deal of discipline. They beat the Saints in the wild-card round last year and were two wins away from the Super Bowl. A lot of organizations would have been aggressive in addressing a weakness or two in hopes of making that final leap.

But the Vikings took a realistic look at their roster and decided to go in a different direction. They traded Stefon Diggs, parted ways with a number of defensive veterans and tried to refuel through the draft with 15 picks, including four in the first three rounds.

It’s a bit of a soft rebuild. The Vikings are by no means giving up on the season. They could easily win the NFC North this year and make a deep playoff run. But they’re also not in “all in” or “win now” mode. They agreed to new contracts with Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer and are expected to extend GM Rick Spielman’s. Minnesota can now move forward with what looks like a three-year window to win a title.

What are fair expectations, though, for this season? Do they have enough at wide receiver? Can they get their offensive line figured out? And while Zimmer has proven to be one of the best defensive coaches of this era, can he really produce a top-tier unit with so many new faces?

Below is a preview of the Vikings’ upcoming season that includes analysis of 2019, their offseason moves and their offensive and defensive schemes. Expected points added (EPA) and coverage data is courtesy of Sports Info Solutions. You can find a primer on EPA here or just view it as a success metric that measures a play’s impact on the score of the game. All other numbers are from Sportradar, unless otherwise noted.

1. Gary Kubiak will take over play-calling duties from Kevin Stefanski, but Kubiak was already on staff last season as a senior offensive advisor. The Vikings ranked 10th in offensive efficiency. They benefited from great injury luck, ranking third in Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost metric.

The Vikings went against league-wide trends and used 11 personnel (one RB, one TE, three WRs) just 21 percent of the time. Their most popular grouping was 12 personnel (one RB, two TEs, two WRs), and they also used plenty of 21 personnel (two RBs, one RB, two WRs).

Vikings offensive personnel 12 35% 21 22% 11 21% 22 12% 13 9% It’s tough to say what those percentages will look like in 2020. On one hand, their 11 personnel usage was an outlier compared to most of the league, so it’d be reasonable to expect them to bump that up. On the other hand, they traded Diggs, so it’s not like they have three proven wide receivers who they need to get on the field.

Offense (new starters in green) WR Adam Thielen WR Justin Jefferson LT LG Riley Reiff C RG RT Brian O'Neill TE Kyle Rudolph TE Irv Smith Jr. QB Kirk Cousins RB Dalvin Cook The Vikings used a first-round pick on Justin Jefferson, who will be paired with Adam Thielen. When the Vikings go with three wide receivers, and Tajae Sharpe will have opportunities to get on the field.

Minnesota has plenty to figure out on the offensive line. The best-case scenario would be for second-round pick Ezra Cleveland to win the starting left tackle competition so Riley Reiff can slide inside to guard. However, it’s possible Reiff sticks at left tackle and Cleveland plays guard. It’s also possible that Cleveland starts the season as a backup and someone like plays guard.

One way to gauge whether a team is pass heavy or run heavy is to look at what it does on early downs when games are still competitive. Only four teams ran the ball at a higher rate than the Vikings last season.

As The Athletic’s Arif Hasan and Chad Graff pointed out in their outstanding “10 big questions” series, Kubiak could be more pass heavy than Stefanski was. Using the filters above, Kubiak’s Broncos offenses in 2015 and 2016 ranked 13th in pass frequency. And when Kubiak was with the Ravens in 2014, they ranked 14th.

Obviously, Zimmer wants to play a certain way, and the Vikings will be committed to their run game, but it’d be no surprise to see them rank more in the middle of the pack in pass frequency in 2020.

2. Even though the Vikings ran the ball a lot, they were mediocre in efficiency, ranking 16th.

Dalvin Cook led the Vikings with 1,135 yards, and while chipped in with 462 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry (YPC), the advanced numbers suggest there was a stark difference between the two.

Cook vs. Mattison Dalvin Cook 1,135 17th 6th Alexander Mattison 462 49th 42nd The second column is more of a consistency rank; it measures how often a back produces a positive result (EPA). The third column rewards really big plays and penalizes really bad plays. Among the 50 backs last season who had at least 75 carries, Mattison ranked 49th and 42nd in the two categories. Cook was obviously a lot better.

There are plenty of reasons why the Vikings shouldn’t spend big on a contract extension for Cook. He’s missed 18 games in three seasons and has had fumbling issues. But overall, he was outstanding last season, and the numbers suggest the Vikings could face a steep drop-off if they are forced to play Mattison instead of him.

Vikings rushing efficiency Shotgun N/A N/A Under center -0.07 11th 21 personnel 0.03 N/A 12 -0.18 24th out of 29 22 -0.14 N/A 11 0.13 2nd The Vikings had just 39 RB runs out of shotgun all season; only the Rams had fewer. Even though they didn’t use a high percentage of 11 personnel, it was their best grouping in terms of rushing efficiency. Their worst grouping was 12 personnel; 22 personnel with fullback C.J. Ham wasn’t far behind.

Football Outsiders uses a metric called adjusted line yards to measure run blocking. The Vikings ranked seventh. Kubiak (and offensive line coach/run-game coordinator Rick Dennison) deserve a lot of credit for that ranking

The Vikings have continuity with their run scheme. As long as Cook can stay healthy (or if Mattison can take a step forward), they are positioned to have a strong run game.

3. Here’s how Cousins’ overall 2019 performance stacked up.

MIN - QBKirk Cousins 2019 QBR 58.4 13th ANY/A 7.73 7th DVOA 14.3% 10th EPA/PLAY 0.28 4th EPA/play filters out any snaps where one team's win probability fell to below 20%. Depending on which metric you prefer — and none are perfect — Cousins was anywhere between the fourth- and the 13th-best quarterback.

Next Gen Stats tracks a metric called completion percentage above expectation. It looks at the probability of a completion on every throw, based on factors like how far the throw is, how open the receiver is and how much pressure the quarterback is under. It then comes up with an expected completion percentage and compares that number to the quarterback’s actual completion percentage. Cousins ranked third out of 39 quarterbacks.

The Vikings were the best screen team. No quarterback had a higher EPA on screens to running backs and tight ends than Cousins. Per Sports Info Solutions, Cousins produced a league-high 443 yards on those screens and averaged 9 YPA.

Football Outsiders uses adjusted interception rate to measure how often quarterbacks throw balls that should be picked off. They remove interceptions that can be blamed on wide receiver drops and Hail Mary attempts. But they add interceptions that are dropped by defenders. Cousins’ adjusted interception rate of 1.8 percent was the sixth lowest.

Fumbles, however, were an issue. Cousins’ 10 fumbles last year were tied for eighth most. Overall, Cousins produced a negative result (sack, fumble or interception) on 8.6 percent of his plays, which ranked 15th.

One other area where Cousins did not perform well was late in close games. When tied or losing in the fourth quarter, Cousins ranked 21st in EPA per dropback.

4. Here’s how Cousins performed in a number of different categories:

Breaking down Cousins Vs. man 0.24 4th Vs. zone 0.06 19th 11 personnel 0.25 N/A 2-RB sets 0.17 N/A 12 personnel 0.05 14th out of 22 In pocket 0.07 13th Out of pocket 0.38 1st Play action 0.27 8th Cousins carved up man coverage but wasn’t nearly as good against zone. Cousins had just 98 dropbacks in 11 personnel, but the Vikings lit defenses up passing the ball out of that grouping. They were also very good passing out of two-RB sets, but 12 personnel gave them nothing.

The last two rows demonstrate how Kubiak’s scheme fits with Cousins’ skill set. He was the top quarterback last year when throwing from outside the pocket. And as expected, the play-action numbers were strong. Minnesota ranked third in play-action frequency.

There are a couple areas where Diggs’ absence is likely to sting the most. One is against man coverage. Diggs is an outstanding route-runner who can regularly separate against top-tier cornerbacks. Cousins is now going to have fewer options for completions against man coverage. Overall, Cousins’ expected completion percentage last year was 63.6, which ranked 22nd among starters. It’s not like the scheme was creating a bunch of easy throws. Now those will be even harder to come by.

The other area is the deep passing game. A lot of the Vikings’ passing game was screens and deep shots. Cousins ranked third in EPA per attempt when throwing the ball 20 yards or more downfield. Only Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson produced a higher total EPA on downfield throws. Again, it’s hard to see him coming close to those numbers without Diggs.

5. Here’s a look at how the Vikings’ pass-catchers performed last season:

Vikings pass-catchers in 2019 Stefon Diggs 1,130 2.73 3rd out of 111 Dalvin Cook 519 2.03 5th out of 58 Adam Thielen 418 1.92 31st out of 111 Kyle Rudolph 367 1.1 43rd out of 67 Irv Smith 311 1.05 47th out of 67 Bisi Johnson 294 1.04 91st out of 111 There was nothing overrated about Diggs last season. He was one of the best and most efficient wide receivers in the league, ranking third in yards per route run. Cook was outstanding on screens and in the passing game.

Thielen is a key player. He was slowed by hamstring and ankle injuries last year and played just 43 percent of the snaps. There’s no questioning Thielen’s talent. He was a monster in 2017 and 2018. But he turns 30 in August and will no longer have the benefit of sharing the field with Diggs.

Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith ranked in the bottom half of qualifying tight ends in yards per route run. Rudolph is 30 and will likely see fewer snaps. Smith flashed as a rookie and should see an increased role.

It was a small sample, but Johnson was among the least productive qualifying wide receivers.

There won’t be many rookies who are asked to contribute more than Jefferson. At LSU, Jefferson showed a great feel for finding holes against zone coverage. He knows how to set up defensive backs, showed good hands and displayed tremendous body control on contested catches. Jefferson was a challenging evaluation because he got such great quarterback play from Joe Burrow, but he was highly productive.

Jefferson was at his best in the slot last year. Over 50 percent of Thielen’s routes came from the slot in 2017 and 2018, but he was used more outside last season. The Vikings will have to figure out the best way to deploy their top two wide receivers.

Up front, the Vikings ranked 23rd in ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric, which measures how often protection holds up for at least 2.5 seconds. They’ve got a lot of moving parts, but the first thing they have to figure out is where they’re going to play Reiff and Cleveland. The Vikings need center Garrett Bradbury to make a big leap from his rookie season. The hope has to be that second-year player Dru Samia will win a starting guard spot, but Elflein is also an option. Right tackle Brian O’Neill is the Vikings’ most talented and dependable lineman (for more on each player, check out Hasan’s excellent position-by-position series).

Statistically, Cousins had a career year in 2019. But given the questions at wide receiver and offensive line, he’ll have to do more with less in 2020.

6. It’s not easy to build a consistently strong defense that performs well year after year. But this is another area where the Vikings have been an outlier under Zimmer. They’ve finished in the top eight in defensive efficiency for four straight seasons. Last year, Minnesota finished seventh. They benefited from having the second-best injury luck, according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted games lost metric.

The Vikings stayed almost exclusively in two personnel groupings. They played nickel on 72 percent of their snaps and base 27 percent of the time.

Defense (new starters in green) Edge DL Michael Pierce DL Shamar Stephen Edge LB LB Anthony Barr CB Mike Hughes CB Holton Hill CB S Harrison Smith S Anthony Harris There’s no denying that it’s a new era for the defense. Gone are mainstays like Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen (still a free agent), Linval Joseph and Trae Waynes. The Vikings signed defensive tackle Michael Pierce and used a first- round pick on corner Jeff Gladney. Safety Anthony Harris returns on the franchise tag. Players like Ifeadi Odenigbo (who played 34 percent of the snaps last season), Mike Hughes (46 percent) and Holton Hill (14 percent) will be thrust into bigger roles.

7. The Vikings ranked eighth against the run last season. Football Outsiders uses a metric called adjusted line yards to measure defensive line play against the run, and they were 25th. But Minnesota’s linebackers — Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr — performed well, and they were the best short-yardage/goal-line run defense.

Vikings run defense Base -0.18 8th Nickel -0.02 18th Vs. 11 -0.1 5th Vs. 12 0 27th Vs. 2-RB sets -0.04 N/A The numbers for the Vikings’ defense are a little messy. They got a big bump in their base defense from being so good in short yardage, but if we look at percentage of plays where the opponent produced a positive result, the Vikings weren’t quite as good in base, ranking 16th. It’s a similar story in nickel, where they ranked 27th in that category.

Turnovers are part skill and part luck. The Vikings’ definitely benefited from good luck last season. They had 7.6 percent of opponents’ drives result in fumbles, which ranked third. And 17.5 percent of opponents’ drives resulted in turnovers, which also ranked third. Overall, only the Steelers had better fumble luck than the Vikings last season.

Personnel-wise, Pierce should give the Vikings a nice boost in the middle of their defense. They might not benefit from the same luck as last year in a number of categories but are still well-equipped to finish in the top half of the league in run defense.

8. The Vikings’ pass defense finished seventh in efficiency but lost the three corners — Rhodes, Waynes and — who played the most snaps. Hughes is locked in as one starter, and the most likely scenario is that the other two spots will be filled by Gladney (a feisty rookie who can play inside or outside) and Hill (a 2018 undrafted free agent who is entering his third season in the system). Other options are third-round pick and second-year player Kris Boyd.

Minnesota mixed up its coverages, but the foundation of its defense was split-safety zones. The Vikings played man at the sixth-lowest rate. They played single-high coverages (Cover-1 and Cover-3) at the lowest rate.

Vikings pass defense: Man vs. zone Man -0.04 16th Zone -0.01 11th Their overall numbers were similar, regardless of man or zone. But the Vikings really struggled when playing with a single high safety. They ranked 28th in EPA per attempt when playing Cover-1 (man coverage with a single deep safety) and 27th when playing Cover-3 (a three-deep zone with four underneath defenders).

The Vikings’ most popular coverages were Cover-4 (a four-across zone with three underneath defenders) and Cover- 2 (a two-deep zone with five underneath defenders). They ranked second in EPA per attempt when playing Cover-2 and eighth when playing Cover-4.

Vikings pass defense by personnel Base -0.16 2nd Nickel -0.01 12th Vs. 11 -0.01 18th Vs. 12 0.1 16th There’s not a whole lot to glean from the personnel splits, but the Vikings held up well against the pass in their base defense. Having a player as good as Kendricks in the middle of their defense definitely helps.

The Vikings are strong at safety with Harris and Harrison Smith. They ranked ninth in EPA per attempt on downfield passes, which travel 20 yards or more.

Here is how the Vikings performed against different positional targets:

Pass defense vs. different targets WR 24th TE 1st RB 11th The numbers reflect strong linebacker and safety play. At corner, the Vikings ranked 29th in EPA per attempt when outside receivers were targeted. Again, their outside corners really struggled last season, and it’s reasonable to think they could actually be better there even though the new guys are unproven. Minnesota ranked 13th when slot receivers were targeted.

Given that the secondary wasn’t great last season, the concern at corner might be slightly exaggerated. Then again, playing zone coverage requires a high level of communication with defenders demonstrating coordinated movements to account for various route concepts. This is going to be a challenge for the Vikings, especially given the nature of this offseason.

9. The Vikings ranked 26th in ESPN’s pass-rush win-rate metric, which tracks how often the defense gets pressure within 2.5 seconds of the snap. But they were 10th in percentage of dropbacks with a sack or QB hit. And they could take over games at times, as we saw in the wild-card round win over the Saints.

Danielle Hunter led the Vikings with 14.5 sacks to go along with 22 quarterback hits. Griffen was second with eight sacks and 24 quarterback hits. Odenigbo was productive, despite limited snaps. He produced a sack or QB hit on 7.8 percent of his pass-rush chances, which ranked 20th league-wide. That was actually a better rate than Griffen (6.2 percent). Odenigbo had seven sacks and 13 hits. He lined up at defensive end and at defensive tackle.

Zimmer can move players around, but if Odenigbo is playing more defensive end, the Vikings don’t have great options on the interior. Pierce produced a sack or QB hit on just 1.5 percent of his chances with the Ravens last year. That ranked 159th out of 172 qualifying players. Shamar Stephen was at 1.1 percent, which ranked 166th. As Graff and Hasan pointed out, the Vikings need someone like Anthony Zettel, James Lynch, , Hercules Mata’afa or to emerge as an interior pass rusher.

The Vikings ranked 23rd in blitz frequency. When they blitzed, opponents produced a first down 34.2 percent of the time, which ranked 11th.

With Griffen gone, it’s tough to see a scenario in which the Vikings are significantly better with their four-man rush. They very well could be counting on Zimmer to scheme up pressure if one of their lesser-known players doesn’t emerge to complement Hunter and Odenigbo.

10. In terms of in-game decision-making, Zimmer was excellent on challenges last year, winning seven of 10. To no one’s surprise, he was conservative with his fourth-down decision-making.

The Vikings had a lot of things go their way last year that might not go their way this year. They had the best injury luck and the second-best fumble luck. They were fifth in turnover margin and 14th in special teams efficiency. Minnesota went 2-4 in one-possession games.

The Vikings rank 13th in projected strength of schedule (with one being the easiest). William Hill has them at +150 to win the NFC North, just slightly behind the Packers (+140). Their over/under for wins is nine.

Minnesota is a high-variance team. There’s a nightmare scenario in which Thielen struggles to stay healthy, Jefferson takes time to get up to speed, the offense misses Diggs in a big way, the line struggles and the passing game takes a significant step back. Defensively, the pass rush lacks answers, and the secondary takes a while to jell. If things go that way and they get hit with some bad luck, the Vikings could be a six- or seven-win team.

But in Kubiak and Zimmer, the Vikings have smart, proven, veteran coaches. There’s a glass-half-full scenario in which Thielen reverts to his 2018 form, Jefferson looks pro-ready right away and Kubiak is a better play caller than Stefanski. The new corners actually offer an upgrade, Zimmer schemes up pressure and the defense is good again. If things fall that way, the Vikings could easily win the NFC North and make a deep playoff run.

PUBLICATION: The Athletic DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings 53-man roster projection 2.0: Who’s in and who’s out as camp begins

By Chad Graff and Arif Hasan

Technically, Vikings training camp opens Tuesday. Of course, we now know players won’t actually be on the field much, and whatever comes of this training camp will almost certainly be drastically different compared to what we’re accustomed to.

Fans won’t be allowed to watch. There will be no joint practices and probably no exhibition games either. And who knows how many full practice sessions will actually take place.

But that won’t stop us. We’re back to kick off training camp with our second 53-man projection of the year and first since the draft. Let’s dive in.

Quarterbacks In: Kirk Cousins, Sean Mannion

Contested: (Arif keeps him, Chad cuts him)

Out:

Chad: Without preseason games, Browning will have a hard time putting up the numbers Kyle Sloter did a year ago. So it’ll take some big performances in training camp for him to leapfrog Mannion.

Arif: Anyone who has followed my 53-man roster projections over the years (who would?) knows I’m a sucker for three-quarterback rosters. For the first time in a long time, the Vikings in 2019 decided that two QBs were the better choice than three but I don’t necessarily expect that to continue. With the uncertainty surrounding the season, the Vikings might see fit to field more players at the most important position. It’s equally possible, of course, that the expanded practice squad with protected slots might be the perfect spot for Browning, so anything could happen here. Browning was impressive to me last year and deserves some consideration.

Jake Browning (Derick E. Hingle / USA Today) Running backs In: Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, , C.J. Ham

Contested: None

Out: , Tony Brooks-James

Chad: After the draft, I initially thought K.J. Osborn would have a tough time making the team given his lack of production at wide receiver. But without preseason games, I think he may get the benefit of the doubt as a returner who can bring back both kickoffs and punts. That’s something that could cost Abdullah a roster spot. And since I still think a deal gets done with Cook before Week 1, I don’t think Abdullah retains his spot.

Arif: I think the only chance Abdullah has to make the roster is as a returner, but I don’t think he’s so spectacular at that job that the Vikings will take pains to keep him with roster pressure at other positions. With a few return candidates brought in, Abdullah’s odds look long.

Wide receivers In: Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, Bisi Johnson, Tajae Sharpe, K.J. Osborn

Contested: Quartney Davis (Chad keeps him, Arif cuts him), Alexander Hollins (Arif keeps him, Chad cuts him)

Out: , Davion Davis, , Bralon Addison, Dillon Mitchell

Chad: I still think Osborn is far from a shoo-in, but as mentioned above, he was brought here to improve the team’s return game. And while I agree with Arif about Hollins being a legit contender to make the roster after a strong showing in Week 17, I’m giving Quartney Davis the edge for now after the Vikings fought so hard to sign the undrafted free agent. The bottom of this depth chart will be fascinating to follow when training camp eventually commences.

Arif: By cutting Davis, I’m essentially forfeiting one of my only opportunities to add an undrafted free agent to the roster — and one typically makes the roster every year. Nevertheless, Davis was not that impressive to me upon review despite the interest he drew after the draft. Hollins, on the other hand, was exceedingly impressive to me in his limited showing in the NFL. For now, without a preseason, I’ll give that the nod. I’m not convinced Sharpe makes the roster, but without many veterans to lead the group, I’ll give him a chance.

Irv Smith Jr. Irv Smith Jr. (David Berding / USA Today) Tight ends In: Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr.,

Contested: None

Out: Brandon Dillon, , Nakia Griffin-Stewart

Chad: I don’t think this is much of a surprise. Conklin proved plenty serviceable, so it would take a lot to unseat him for the third tight end job. It will be very intriguing to see how Rudolph and Smith Jr. look.

Arif: I’m willing to believe a fourth tight end makes the roster, but I’ll hold off for now in order to preserve depth along the line — especially given that there are opportunities for protected practice squad spots. Dillon would be perfect for one of those expanded spots as he continues to develop as a blocker. His phenomenal training camp last year is tantalizing, but for now the Vikings need to have as much confirmed talent as possible.

Offensive line In: Ezra Cleveland, Riley Reiff, Garrett Bradbury, Dru Samia, Brian O’Neill, , Brett Jones, ,

Contested: Aviante Collins (Chad keeps him, Arif cuts him), Pat Elflein (Arif keeps him, Chad cuts him)

Out: Blake Brandel, , Brady Aiello, Tyler Higby, Jake Lacina

Chad: I think Elflein has a better chance to make the team than most fans realize. But for now, I’ve got Collins or Dozier winning the guard spot opposite Samia. Of course, much of the starting five comes down to how Cleveland looks. Is he already able to serve as a tackle? Are the Vikings willing to play him at guard this season then move him back to tackle next season? Or is he a backup Week 1?

Arif: I’m going to finally say goodbye to Collins despite the relative inexperience of the offensive line — Collins’ injury history is too worrisome and he hasn’t proven to be so much better than another backup tackle to be worth more than perhaps a second backup at quarterback. With Hill and Udoh, the Vikings have two backup tackles — and a third in Dozier, should the need arise. They also don’t have much in the way of interior depth — Dozier at guard, and Jones at center. Elflein gives them some flexibility there, and he brings a locker room presence that a shifting line might need. He didn’t play well over the past few years, but he still can offer value.

Jaleel Johnson (Brad Rempel / USA Today) Defensive line In: Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Shamar Stephen, Ifeadi Odenigbo, James Lynch, D.J. Wonnum, , Armon Watts, Jalyn Holmes

Contested: Jaleel Johnson (Chad keeps him, Arif cuts him)

Out: Eddie Yarbrough, Hercules Mata’afa, Anthony Zettel, Stacy Keely, David Moa

Chad: It’s a big ask for three rookies (two of them Day 3 picks) to make the 53-man roster in a year with no preseason games and an abbreviated training camp. But I think that possibility speaks to Andre Patterson’s ability to develop defensive linemen. He’s the one who wanted Wonnum, so that was good enough for me to put him in on this projection. And I think Willekes could be a pleasant surprise for a seventh-round pick. To me, the final spot may come down to Holmes or Zettel.

Arif: I don’t love cutting Mata’afa but someone has to go in the three-technique battle, and the player whose Week 1 appearance was discouraging enough to barely ever see the field again seems like the most likely candidate. Johnson has developed quickly enough to be a lock for the roster and I decided it would be possible to let him go so long as Stephen slots back into his previous role as a backup nose tackle, joining Watts in that role.

I’m also a little hesitant that all three defensive linemen drafted this year will make the roster, but I can’t figure out which one to cut. Were I forced to choose, I suppose I’d pick Wonnum — who has more favor and capital invested than Willekes, but is personally a less appealing prospect to me. I’d also keep an eye on Keely, who desperately needed to add weight over the past year but is the rare tryout to make a practice squad — like C.J. Ham, Marcus Sherels and Adam Thielen.

Linebackers In: Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Eric Wilson, Cameron Smith,

Contested: None

Out: DeMarquis Gates, , Jordan Fehr,

Chad: Gates was a stud in the XFL and it would be nice to see him in preseason games. But he could be another one in a large group of players hurt by the lack of opportunity this training camp. Also, this would be an unceremonious exit for Gedeon, a player who has quietly started 22 games the last three seasons and excels as a run stuffer.

Arif: Opportunity is the key word here, and it could be a reason why Gedeon gets another year. He hasn’t ever been poor in his specific role for the Vikings, but his placement on injured reserve last year for a concussion is alarming and why we’ll leave him off this projection. This leaves the Vikings without an incredible run-plugger for three- linebacker sets, but they’ll have to do. Wilson is a great coverage player and having Cameron Smith and Troy Dye behind him means much better linebacker depth than most teams can boast. It would not be shocking to see another body here or one of either Smith or Dye departing to make room for Gedeon.

Jeff Gladney Jeff Gladney (Brian Spurlock / USA Today) Defensive backs In: Mike Hughes, Jeff Gladney, Holton Hill, Cameron Dantzler, Kris Boyd, , Harrison Smith, Anthony Harris,

Contested: Marcus Sayles (Chad keeps him, Arif cuts him), Brian Cole (Arif keeps him, Chad cuts him)

Out: Nevelle Clarke, Mark Fields, Myles Dorn, Nate Meadors, Kemon Hall

Chad: This may be the battle fans are most looking forward to. Who are the corners? And who backs up Harris and Smith? This is admittedly a guess without the benefit of watching practices all summer. But I’m giving Sayles the final roster spot thanks to his athleticism (a 40-inch vertical and 11-foot broad jump at his pro day in 2017.

Arif: No one is more excited than me to see CFL superstars get a chance at an NFL roster — I wanted Brandon Zylstra to make the roster and players like Terrell Sinkfield and Solomon Elimimian before them. But I don’t see Sayles making the roster over another safety — one who happens to be a super-athlete, as well. Having three safeties isn’t unheard of for the Vikings but it certainly isn’t preferable, and they can fill out their depleted depth with a pair of rookies. Otherwise, Chad and I agree on the cornerback group, though I’m interested in undrafted free agent Nevelle Clarke as well as second-year player Mark Fields.

Specialists In: Dan Bailey, , Austin Cutting

Out: None PUBLICATION: Skor North DATE: 7/28/20

Zulgad: Five pressing topics facing the Vikings’ offense as training camp gets set to open

By Judd Zulgad

The coronavirus pandemic will have a significant impact on NFL training camps and, at the rate things are going, likely will be a story well into the regular season. But as the Vikings’ prepare for their entire roster to report to camp on Tuesday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer also are going to have to focus on actual football matters.

Zimmer, who received a three-year contract extension last week that will run through 2023, is entering his seventh season in Minnesota and is looking to lead his team to its fourth playoff berth in that time. So what are some issues Zimmer and his coaching staff must deal with before the regular season opens? Let’s take a look at five pressing topics facing the offense in the first of a two-part series.

GARY’S IN CHARGE

After firing first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo with three games left in the 2018 season, Zimmer brought in longtime NFL offensive coordinator and head coach Gary Kubiak as a senior offensive advisor and paired him with assistant Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski was considered the coordinator and called the plays, but there was no doubt it was Kubiak’s offense that quarterback Kirk Cousins was running.

Zimmer, who a year earlier had been frustrated that DeFilippo had frequently abandoned the run game, was pleased with the results as the Vikings jumped from 30th to sixth in the NFL in rushing offense, 19th to eighth in points and 20th to 16th in yards.

Cousins’ career-high passer rating of 107.4 was fourth in the league and his six interceptions were the fewest he had thrown in an NFL season as a starter. Cousins’ 26 were tied with Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes for the eighth most in the league. While the Vikings’ offensive line had some issues in pass protection, Cousins’ sack total did drop from 40 in 2018 to 28 in 2019 with Kubiak’s scheme in place.

The run game featured Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 1,135 yards (10th in the NFL) on 250 carries, a 4.5-yard average, and 13 touchdowns in a career-high 14 games. Cook also caught 53 passes for 519 yards. a 9.8 average.

The Vikings’ success on offense helped to land Stefanski the head coaching job in Cleveland, meaning the soon-to- be 59-year-old Kubiak will move from offense advisor to coordinator this season. So how much will change?

“Offensively it’s not going to change hardly at all,” Zimmer said on a video conference call Saturday. “Gary was very, very influential in everything that we went about offensively. I’m not trying to take anything away from Kevin, but it was basically Gary’s offense and a lot of the things that were installed was Gary’s offense.

“Gary gave a lot of input to Kevin throughout the course of time and (assistant) Rick Dennison with the offensive line. I think they have a little bit different personalities and both good guys, smart guys, hard workers, all those things. … I know Gary has some ideas that he has put in this offseason, but I don’t think (there will be) much difference when you look at our offense or the play calls.”

WILL DALVIN SHOW UP?

Cook’s camp reportedly informed the Vikings in June that their client no longer would be taking part in team activities unless he received “a reasonable deal.” Cook is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract and his base salary of $1.3 million for 2020 makes him a bargain.

On Saturday, Zimmer said Cook had told him he would show up on Tuesday for the start of camp. On Saturday night, Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, released a statement to ESPN that said Zimmer hadn’t talked to Cook and a few hours later NFL Network reported that Cook actually had talked to Vikings running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu.

So what is going on here?

Given that Hiller’s statement never said that his client would fail to report on Tuesday, the smart money is on Cook showing up and, thus, fulfilling the requirement that he is present for the start of training camp so he can receive an accrued season for 2020. Otherwise, the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement says that Cook will end this season with only three years of service time and would be eligible to become a restricted, and not unrestricted, free agent this coming March.

That move could cost Cook millions. The Vikings have traditionally rewarded their best young players as they near the end of their first contract, so Cook’s best play might be to simply show up and hope something can get done. Ordinarily, that would appear to be a slam dunk, but Cook plays a position that many teams are reluctant to pay and the NFL salary cap is almost certainly going to decrease because of the impact of the pandemic. The cap is at $198.2 million this season but could have a floor of $175 million in 2021.

It’s not Cook’s fault, but his timing is terrible.

REPLACING DIGGS

The Vikings granted Stefon Diggs’ wish to escape Minnesota in March when they sent the disgruntled wide receiver to Buffalo for a package of four draft picks. The return was an impressive one given everyone knew Diggs wanted out, but now the challenge will be replacing him and seeing how wide receiver Adam Thielen fares without opposing defenses also having to worry about Diggs.

The Vikings’ hope is that first-round pick Justin Jefferson will prove to be a quick study and step in as the No. 2 wide receiver behind Thielen. But Jefferson’s camp got off to a rocky start on Monday when the Vikings announced he had been placed on the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Jefferson played primarily in the slot last season and caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior for national champion LSU. Best case, Jefferson steps in and picks up where Diggs left off (minus the unhappy tweets). Thielen is coming off a season in which he was limited to 10 games because of a hamstring injury, so the Vikings need him to stay on the field, too, if this is going to work.

Minnesota signed former Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe to a one-year, $825,000 base salary contract in free agent this offseason to add depth at the position. The 25-year-old spent his first three seasons with Tennessee, but his reception total dropped from 41 to 26 to 25. Second-year receiver Bisi Johnson (31 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdowns) looks like he could help as a vertical threat for Cousins. Johnson was a seventh-round pick in 2019, but Diggs developed into an elite wide receiver after being a fifth-round pick in 2015.

Cousins should be helped by the fact that Cook can catch passes out of the backfield and tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr., both are very capable receivers. The Vikings will open camp with 12 wide receivers on the roster, but it’s the success of the top two, Thielen and Jefferson, that will be most important.

WHERE WILL CLEVELAND LAND?

The Vikings drafted their left tackle of the future in April when they selected Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland in the second round, but there remains an important question to be answered: When does that future begin?

Riley Reiff, 31, has been the Vikings’ left tackle for the past three seasons and is entering the second to last season of a five-year, $58.75 million contract he signed in 2017. There was talk the Vikings could have Cleveland start this season at left tackle and move Reiff inside to left guard as the replacement for Pat Elflein, who struggled at that position in 2019. There also was speculation the Vikings could move Cleveland to left guard and leave Reiff at left tackle.

The Vikings’ ability to get creative might have been possible if the pandemic hadn’t wiped out the on-the-field work during OTAs and minicamp. But with the offseason program lost, other than virtual learning, and now training camp set to be impacted, it will be interesting to see if Cleveland gets a chance to start, or if the Vikings simply have him learn behind Reiff and then take over at left tackle in 2021.

SPEAKING OF GUARD

While Elflein’s job could be in jeopardy, the competition at right guard will be wide open after veteran guard Josh Kline was released following one season in Minnesota.

There are a few options for the Vikings after they did not sign a replacement for Kline, beginning with 2019 fourth- round pick Dru Samia and veteran Dakota Dozier. Aviante Collins, who orginally signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2017, also could be in the mix. Collins, however, is listed at tackle on the Vikings’ roster.

Samia appeared in only two games last season but was in for 63 percent of the offensive snaps in a Week 17 victory over Bears. The Vikings did not play several regulars in that game after locking into a playoff spot and that was the only game in which Samia appeared with the offense. Samia was the 2018 Big 12 offensive lineman of the year at Oklahoma.

Dozier, 29, joined the Vikings last season after starting his career with the Jets. He played in all 16 games, starting four times. One of those came at left guard and the other three were in place of Kline at right guard. The Vikings re- signed Dozier to a one-year contract for a base salary of $910,000 during the offseason.

The team’s preference could be for Dozier to remain in a backup role — just as Rashod Hill remains a valuable backup at tackle — and for Samia to win the starting job. PUBLICATION: Skor North DATE: 7/28/20

First-round pick Justin Jefferson among four Vikings placed on COVID-19 list

By Judd Zulgad

First-round pick Justin Jefferson was among four players placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Vikings on Monday. The team announced in a release that tackle Blake Brandel of Oregon State; safety Brian Cole II of Mississippi State; and offensive lineman Tyler Higby of Michigan State also were placed on the list.

Jefferson was the 22nd pick by the Vikings out of LSU in the NFL draft last April. Brandel was taken in the sixth round, Cole in the seventh and Higby was signed as an undrafted free agent.

The new reserve list category has been created by the NFL for a player who tests positive for COVID-19 or has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons, according to a press release issued by the Vikings.

The release goes on to read: If a player falls into either of these categories, their club is required to immediately place the player on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Per agreed upon NFL-NFLPA policy, clubs are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status other than referring to roster status. Clubs may not disclose whether player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.

Vikings rookies and quarterbacks reported to training camp last Thursday and went through the intake process to test for the coronavirus. The rest of the roster is scheduled to report on Tuesday and also will be tested. PUBLICATION: Skor North DATE: 7/28/20

No Pack No: Could Everson Griffen end up signing with Green Bay?

By Judd Zulgad

There have been numerous occasions over the years in which the Vikings have jumped at the chance to sign players from the arch-rival Green Bay Packers. The most notable was quarterback Brett Favre, but there have been others, such as kicker Ryan Longwell and wide receivers Greg Jennings and Robert Ferguson.

Well, it appears the Packers might return the favor in 2020. Two days after Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he would love to have Everson Griffen back on his team, it was reported the defensive end is narrowing down his choices and that the Packers have expressed interest in the veteran. That report comes from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Griffen voided the final three years of his contract last February after getting eight sacks in his 10th season with the Vikings. The 32-year-old probably thought he quickly would sign elsewhere but that didn’t happen, largely in part because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Griffen, a fourth-round pick of Minnesota in 2010, had 74.5 career sacks with the Vikings and developed into a standout right end under Zimmer. “I don’t know,” Zimmer said Saturday when asked about Griffen potentially returning. “I know that he texted me the other day telling me congratulations (on Zimmer’s contract extension) and things like that. I’d love to have him back. He’s always been one of my guys, so if that happens that’d be great. I don’t know where that’s at right now.’’

The Vikings two starting defensive ends — Griffen and Danielle Hunter — combined for 22.5 sacks last season. The Vikings are expected to give Ifeadi Odenigbo a chance to replace Griffen. A seventh-round pick out of Northwestern in 2017, Odenigbo had seven sacks in 2019.

The Vikings’ rookies and quarterbacks reported to training camp last Thursday and the full squad is due to report on Tuesday.

PUBLICATION: Skor North DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings head athletic trainer tests positive for COVID-19

By Judd Zulgad

Eric Sugarman, the Vikings’ longtime head athletic trainer, spent much of the offseason making sure TCO Performance Center was prepared when players showed up for training camp during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the Vikings announced that Sugarman, along with members of his family, tested positive for COVID-19.

Sugarman, whom the Vikings also are calling their infection control officer, found out he was positive over the weekend and is in self-quarantine with the rest of his family.

The Vikings’ entire roster is set to report to training camp on Tuesday after rookies and quarterbacks arrived last Thursday.

“We have followed the team’s protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric,” the Vikings said in their statement. “Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines. Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time. Eric will continue to fulfill his role as the team’s ICO virtually as much as possible, and his athletic training staff and other Vikings personnel will assist where necessary.”

Sugarman released his own statement through the Vikings, saying that he and his family are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms.

“I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months,” Sugarman said. “I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career.

“But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally. At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery. I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols.”

PUBLICATION: Purple Insider DATE: 7/28/20

Camp countdown: Breaking down the top training camp storylines

By Matthew Coller

COVID, COVID, COVID There will come a day in which we go 24 hours without hearing about COVID-19 or health-and-safety measures or testing or masks or risks or anything pandemic related.

That day is not coming soon.

All 32 teams enter training camp with an incredible challenge ahead of them. Even with months of effort that has gone into making TCO Performance Center as safe as it can possibly be, there is no guarantee that COVID will be kept out when players are battling face-to-face in practices.

As we go through the phases of camp — which will start with initial testing, then move to strength and conditioning, unpadded practices and then padded practices before the season begins — we will be constantly monitoring the success of the league in working its way through the offseason.

Without a bubble, the odds of positive tests are high. Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman said that the team will be delivering a strong message to players and staff that the healthier they can be, the better they can play.

“We have to get everyone to understand it is an absolute competitive advantage in the NFL in 2020 to adhere to these protocols, to take heed of all the warnings that we've all been doing -- some better than others -- the last four months with regards to wearing a face covering or regards to social distancing, washing your hands, etc.,” Sugarman said. “The team that does it the best clearly has an advantage because they will be healthier in theory, and obviously we know healthy teams tend to win more.”

Let’s hope we don’t have to answer the question: How many positive tests is too many to keep practicing. But there will be plenty of questions to answer like: If a player in a position group tests positive, will everyone in that room have to quarantine?

One important note in the agreement between players and the NFL is that games have to be played in order for players to get paid. That should be a pretty darn good incentive for them to take every possible precaution.

Limited padded practices and lack of preseason Sorry Vikings fans, the first time you will see your team doing anything that looks remotely like real football is when they step on the field at US Bank Stadium Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. The first time that reporters get a look at real practices won’t be until the middle of August. And it appears that you won’t be getting those classic phone videos of nice throws and catches from camp either.

Because this is all unprecedented, none of us know exactly how this is going to look on the field but the most likely scenario is that we see teams putting everything in those two weeks or so of padded practices into getting the starters ready to play. There will still be opportunities for scout team players to shine in practices but those opportunities will be in a very small window.

“Without preseason games we're going to have to set up situations throughout practice where we're, number one, we're going to have live contact,” Mike Zimmer said. “We're going to have to evaluate guys with some of our younger guys against our better guys and try to evaluate those players in those situations, so the evaluation part will probably be the biggest thing for a lot of these young guys. We haven't seen a lot of these guys in person since January 13 for the veterans and we haven't seen rookies in person at all, so we're going to have to start with the baby steps: footwork and hand placement and technique.”

Teams will cut from 90 to 80 players before the real practices get going, which makes it extremely tough on all the undrafted free agents hoping for their shot. Players on “the bubble” are probably going to be evaluated by how quickly they pick up the offense and defense and expanded practice squads will be loaded with teams’ project players.

Preseason games generally don’t have a big impact on roster decisions (even Mike Zimmer acknowledged this last year) but one area the Vikings are sure to miss is the leeway to tweak and experiment. Want to try a new offensive line combo or cornerback group? You’ll have only a handful of practice reps to decide whether it’s going to work or not.

All that said, any rookies who stand out under these circumstances will instantly make a name for themselves.

“We might have to let a second-year guy go because [while] this guy might not be great in week 1, week 2, week 3, maybe week 7 he’s really going to come up,” Zimmer said. “We’re going to have to look at the long-term picture of all these things.”

Stefon Diggs’s replacement(s)

*The Vikings will rely on Irv Smith Jr. this year to raise his game. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

If you have fooled yourself into thinking that the Vikings can easily replace Stefon Diggs, take this into consideration: Since coming into the league in 2015, Diggs has been targeted by Vikings QBs have completed 70.9% of their attempts to Diggs for 12.7 yards per completion and thrown 32 touchdowns with a QB rating of 108.4.

For comparison’s sake:

DeAndre Hopkins’s career rating when targeted is 93.0 (per PFF)

Julio Jones: 106.8

Antonio Brown: 102.8

Amari Cooper: 100.5

Odell Beckham: 102.0

You get the point.

Asking first-round pick Justin Jefferson to fill Diggs’s shoes isn’t realistic considering only two rookie receivers were targeted more than 90 times last season. The more probable scenario is that it requires at team effort. In camp we will be looking for signs of progress from second-year players Irv Smith Jr. and Bisi Johnson along with how free agent Tajae Sharpe and third-year receiver Chad Beebe fit into the fold.

Smith Jr. highly impressed Gary Kubiak last year with his quick progress in a very difficult “move tight end” job. He has the potential to be one of the league’s breakout players.

Will anyone else emerge? Last year Johnson won a job and ended up playing a significant role by the middle of the season when Adam Thielen got hurt. There are plenty of candidates in players like Alexander Hollins, Dillon Mitchell, KJ Osborn and Davion Davis to make noise.

Hollins starts in the lead because of his time on the active roster and playing time in Week 17 against Chicago. Mitchell showed deep-threat potential in college — he’s one of the players who really could have used a second full training camp. Osborn has a shot as a punt returner.

Camp won’t tell us much about whether Thielen can handle the load as a true No. 1 receiver but his history and Kubiak’s both suggest that he can. When targeted over his career, Vikings QBs have a 110.4 rating.

The cornerbacks

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

It has been a really long time since Mike Zimmer didn’t know who his starting cornerbacks were heading into training camp. Since 2016, Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes have been on the outside and along the way Terence Newman and Mackensie Alexander played significant roles as well. Aside from an occasional cameo by Mike Hughes and injury fill-in by Holton Hill, those four are about the only people who have played corner for Zimmer in the last four years.

Now he’s set to have new starters at both outside spots and the slot corner position. Who those starters will be is complete speculation heading into camp. The favorites for the trio of open gigs are first-round pick Jeff Gladney, Hill and Hughes.

While you generally wouldn’t expect the top player of the three to play in the slot, teams are using nickel packages 70% or more of the time in the NFL today, making that job very important. Hughes has two training camps and a handful of game reps in the slot, which gives him the leg up on a position that is more complex than outside corner.

That’s how it looks heading into camp. Everything might change in a jiffy when padded practices start. Intriguing seventh-round pick Kris Boyd saw playing time in Week 17 last year, Cam Dantzler may be farther along than expected after playing in the SEC and even fifth-rounder Harrison Hand or undrafted corner Nevelle Clarke could surprise.

Can they replace Everson Griffen? Zimmer said on Saturday that he would like Griffen to return if possible so maybe Everson Griffen will replace Everson Griffen. But if he isn’t back in Minnesota, the presumptive favorite for starting defensive end is Ifeadi Odenigbo and then there are lots of questions, including whether Odenigbo is ready to play 50-plus snaps per game rather than working as a rotational rusher.

As for players who will find their way into the mix, the competition is as wide open as Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen versus Cover-1. Veterans Eddie Yarbrough and Anthony Zettel have a chance to win a job but they are short on the upside that Zimmer alluded to on Saturday. Draft picks DJ Wonnum and Kenny Willekes could get thrown into the fire right away if they believe there will be improvement throughout the season.

If someone does shine as a rotational rusher, Odenigbo could move inside in certain circumstances the way Brian Robison did regularly when Danielle Hunter emerged.

If a situational defensive tackle like James Lynch, Jalyn Holmes or Hercules Mata’afa emerges, Odenigbo might end up playing every snap. You could take away from Zimmer’s comments about Griffen that they aren’t entirely sure how this is going to play out.

Dalvin Cook’s no-show or big contract Zimmer said Cook told him that he will being showing up to camp. Cook’s agent said that didn’t happen.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter Dalvin Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller: “First, congrats to Coach Zimmer on his well-earned extension. However, Dalvin has not spoken to him in regards to reporting to camp. We are unsure why this was said. I hope Dalvin can continue to play a major role in the Vikings future success.” July 25th 2020

81 Retweets503 Likes That certainly seems to reduce the odds of him coming to camp without a contract but the Vikings also have leverage in the form of fines (that have to be paid now under the CBA) and the loss of an accrued season.

If Cook does arrive without a contract, there will be questions throughout about whether he will be working out a long- term deal with the Vikings or playing out his contract to hit free agency or be franchise tagged in 2021.

In the past the Vikings’ front office has rarely let talented players walk out the door in their primes. This situation is a little different because of the nature of the position. Any way running backs have been studied — whether it’s based on age or contract history or expected points added etc. — always tends to find that they are high risk for signing to mega contracts.

Cook is still in his best years according to the running back age curve and Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey’s deals provide pretty easy parameters to get something done. It will come down to whether the Vikings want to hand out top dollar to a running back and how much hardball Cook’s side wants to play.

Who’s starting on the offensive line? Last year the Vikings graded 25th in pass blocking by PFF and Kirk Cousins was pressured on the 10th highest percentage of drop backs despite Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak’s best efforts to keep him out of danger on bootlegs and rollouts. The No. 1 goal of the O-line will be improving those numbers but deciding on the “best five” will not be easy with only two weeks to see live action.

Will they go with veteran players and move Riley Reiff inside and have Rashod Hill start at left tackle? Will they go inexperienced and use Dru Samia at right guard and Ezra Cleveland somewhere? Will someone like seventh- rounder Kyle Hinton have enough time to emerge? Do they believe in Pat Elflein improving in Year 2 at guard?

The O-line combo is a lock to be a daily story in the days leading up to opening day.

Rookies playing catch-up At very least the Vikings enter camp with expectations for first-round picks Justin Jefferson and Jeff Gladney to play right away and for a number of other rookies to be involved in some capacity. They are facing the toughest uphill battle since the lockout in 2011 (arguably the most difficult ever considering the unusual circumstances for everyone).

“Especially with the young guys, we've got 15 rookies that we drafted, it's going to be extremely important that we get them onto the field,” Zimmer said. “Them not really being with the players other than in virtual meetings prior to this, trying to get some team chemistry I think is going to be important as well, so we're very fortunate to have so much space in this building that we can have some meetings that aren't virtual.”

Experience playing in college could prove helpful for both players. Jefferson played in a complex offense that asked him to line up in many different types of formations just as the Vikings will this year and Gladney played all four years at TCU. But nothing can simulate an NFL offense and defense or the competition Jefferson and Gladney are set to face.

Based on Zimmer’s comments, they might each be asked to sink or swim early on. Others with a legitimate chance to play some type of role include Ezra Cleveland, Cam Dantzler, DJ Wonnum, James Lynch, KJ Osborn (punt returner) and Kenny Willekes. If either starting safety gets hurt, Brian Cole or Josh Metellus may be thrust into a starting job too.

All of their progress will be worth tracking closely.

Setting expectations In a season in which it’s hard to know whether we will even play 16 games much less how everything will play out on the field, it’s especially hard to set the bar for this Vikings team. So long as Kirk Cousins is here along with numerous Pro Bowlers, they should be expected to make the playoffs. But can we really scrutinize them if things go sideways with inexperienced players or if there are absences due to COVID? It will be a moving target.

At the moment the Vikings appear to have a challenging schedule but that could change quickly. We will have a much better feel about the direction the team should be expected to go by the end of camp.

PUBLICATION: ESPN DATE: 7/28/20

Minnesota Vikings trainer/infection control officer tested positive for coronavirus

By Courtney Cronin

The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that athletic trainer Eric Sugarman and members of his family have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Sugarman also is the Vikings' infection control officer.

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He said in a statement that he and his family immediately quarantined and "are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms."

The Vikings said they are sanitizing their facility and contacted anyone who was in close contact with Sugarman. The team said those team personnel have been tested "and are returning under the established guidelines."

"Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings' front office have been identified at this time," the team said.

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Agent: Cook hasn't talked to Zimmer about camp Minnesota did designate four members of its rookie class on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday afternoon -- first- round wide receiver Justin Jefferson, sixth-round offensive tackle Blake Brandel, seventh-round safety Brian Cole II and undrafted free-agent offensive lineman Tyler Higby. None of the players, who reported to Eagan, Minnesota, for training camp last week, came into contact with Sugarman.

The reserve/COVID-19 list is for players who test positive for the coronavirus or were in close contact with an infected person or persons. The NFL has mandated that teams do not designate which category players fall into.

Sugarman will continue to serve as the Vikings' infection control officer virtually, the team said.

"I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally," he said in his statement.

The Vikings are moving forward with their mandatory reporting date for veterans on Tuesday in spite of Sugarman's positive test. All veterans are expected to show up on July 28 to receive their first of multiple COVID-19 tests before they will be allowed to enter TCO Performance Center for the first time for training camp.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin contributed to this report. PUBLICATION: CBS Sports DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings head athletic trainer tests positive for COVID-19; he's had no recent contact with players, per team

By Tyler Sullivan

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Monday that head athletic trainer and vice president of sports medicine Eric Sugarman along with members of his family have tested positive for COVID-19. The club says that Sugarman immediately shared his results with them and "the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts." Sugarman is also serving as the Vikings Infection Control Officer amid the pandemic.

The Vikings say that Sugarman and his family are currently in self-quarantine. The team also added in a statement that he "has not had recent contact with players."

"We have followed the team's protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric," the team said in a statement. "Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines. Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time.

"Eric will continue to fulfill his role as the team's ICO virtually as much as possible, and his athletic training staff and other Vikings personnel will assist where necessary. We wish Eric and his family a quick and full recovery and look forward to him returning to the Vikings when appropriate.

"The health and safety of every member of our organization, our fans and of the broader community is paramount. We encourage everyone to take this virus seriously and to practice the established precautions."

Sugarman also released a statement alongside the club's and said that he and his family "are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms."

"I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months," he said. "I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally.

"At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery. I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols."

Sugarman just completed his 23rd season in the NFL last year and 14th with the Vikings. Back in 2017, Sugarman and his staff were honored as the NFL's Athletic Training Staff of the Year.

PUBLICATION: CBS Sports DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings first-round pick Justin Jefferson among multiple NFL players placed on reserve/COVID-19 list

By Bryan DeArdo

Justin Jefferson, the 22nd overall pick in this year's draft, was one of four Vikings players that were placed on the team's reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. The league's recently-implemented reserve/COVID-19 list includes players who either tested positive for the virus or who have been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. If a player falls into either category, their team is required to immediately place the player on the list. Teams are not permitted, per the agreed-upon NFL-NFLPA policy, to comment on player's medical status other than referring to roster cuts. Furthermore, teams may not disclose whether a player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.

Earlier in the day, the Vikings announced that Eric Sugarman, the team's head trainer VP of sports medicine as well as the club's infection control officer, tested positive for COVID-19 along with members of his family. The four players mentioned in the team's reserve/COVID-19 list have not had any contact with Sugarman, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The fifth receiver selected in this year's draft, the 6-foot-1, 201-pound Jefferson is coming off of a prolific final season with the LSU Tigers. Last fall, Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns while helping Tigers cap off an undefeated season. The Vikings are hoping that Jefferson can help replace Stefon Diggs, who was traded to the Bills earlier this offseason.

The Vikings were not the only NFL team to place players on their reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. The Jaguars placed four rookies -- cornerback Luq Barcoo, defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, cornerback Josiah Scott and offensive lineman Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms -- on the list. Another notable rookie, Buccaneers third-round pick Ke'Shawn Vaughn, was placed on the club's reserve/COVID-19 list. Vaughn, who rushed for 2,272 yards and 21 touchdowns during his final season at Vanderbilt, is expected to compete for playing time alongside current starter Ronald Jones.

On Friday, Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif became the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of playing for the defending champion Chiefs in 2020, Duvernay-Tardif, who graduated from medical school in the spring of 2018, will focus his efforts on fighting the ongoing pandemic. Two other players, Seahawks offensive lineman Chance Warmack and Ravens receiver De'Anthony Thomas, have also chosen to take the league's voluntary opt-out clause.

NFL teams have been permitted to begin training camp on July 28. The league, despite the ongoing pandemic, remains hopeful that it can complete its typical season that is expected to include an expanded playoff format. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued the following message on Monday, via his Twitter account.

"While this year will forever be defined by a heartbreaking global pandemic and a transformative social justice movement, I am reminded of the tenacious, resilient spirit of our country, the NFL community, and you, the greatest fans in the world."

PUBLICATION: USA Today DATE: 7/28/20

Minnesota Vikings infection control officer Eric Sugarman tests positive for COVID-19

By Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that Eric Sugarman, the team's head athletic trainer and infection control officer, has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Vikings said in a statement that the organization learned over the weekend about the positive results for Sugarman and his family.

"Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts," the Vikings said in a statement. "Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their well-being."

The team said Sugarman has "not had recent contact with players," but individuals who may have been in close contact with him had been tested. No additional members of the Vikings' front office have tested positive, the organization said.

Sugarman said he and his family were experiencing "only mild symptoms."

"I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months," Sugarman said. "I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally."

MLB personnel aim to tighten behavior after Marlins outbreak has no real plan to play in COVID-19 era Clippers defend teammate Lou Williams despite breaking protocol Marlins may have created 'super-spread environment' A to Z of great U.S. summer Olympians since 1976 The Vikings plan to have Sugarman "continue to fulfill his role as the team's ICO virtually as much as possible."

The team's rookies, quarterback and other select players reported for training camp on Thursday, while other veterans are scheduled to report Tuesday.

As of Monday afternoon, Minnesota was one of 12 teams yet to have its Infectious Disease Emergency Plan approved by the NFL Players Association. The Vikings also placed four rookies — first-round wide receiver Justin Jefferson, seventh-round safety Brian Cole II and undrafted offensive linemen Blake Brandel and Tyler Higby — on the COVID-19 list, which is to be used on players who either test positive or has been quarantined after having been in close contact with someone who has been infected.

PUBLICATION: NFL.com DATE: 7/28/20

Zimmer says Cook told him he’d report to Vikes camp on time

By Nick Shook

Minnesota's No. 1 receiver of the future is starting his career in isolation.

Justin Jefferson has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Vikings announced. Jefferson was one of four Vikings to land on the list, joining offensive tackle Blake Brandel, safety Brian Cole and offensive lineman Tyler Higby.

The new reserve list was created for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. Teams are not permitted to disclose whether the player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.

The first-round pick out of LSU arrives in Minnesota after a fantastic final season with the Tigers in which he starred in an offense engineered by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Jefferson is expected to fill the shoes left empty by the trade of Stefon Diggs to Buffalo in March.

The Vikings were not the only team to place players on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reporting 18 players landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday and veterans report for testing Tuesday:

The have placed rookie running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, a third-round pick, on the reserve/COVID-19 list. wide receiver Richie James was also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Pelissero reported.

The announced they placed long snapper Blake Ferguson, defensive tackle Benito Jones and cornerback Cordrea Tankersley on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Defensive back Arrion Springs was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced they have placed cornerback Luq Barcoo, defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, cornerback Josiah Scott and offensive lineman Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The placed running back Artavis Pierce to the reserve/COVID-19 list. The Indianapolis Colts placed wide receiver Malik Henry and defensive back Jackson Porter on the reserve/COVID- 19 list. Defensive back Isiah Brown was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Buffalo Bills.

PUBLICATION: NFL.com DATE: 7/28/20

NFC North training camp preview: Packers aim to repeat; Vikings reload

By Grant Gordon

With training camps scheduled to begin this month, it's time to get up to speed on all 32 NFL teams. Below his intro, Grant Gordon has the lowdown on position battles, strengths, weaknesses and newcomers in the NFC North.

Chicago Bears Chicago Bears 2019 record: 8-8 Most important position battle: Quarterback. An offseason ago, many believed the Bears were en route to becoming a Super Bowl contender -- perhaps only the right kicker away. Alas, Chicago fell from reigning division champ to playoff outsider as its offense sputtered thanks to many factors, with the grizzly's share of blame falling upon much- maligned ex-first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky. So, the Bears pulled off a swap for well-traveled former Super Bowl MVP , and a battle began that day. Neither has played a full regular season, so numbers suggest each of them will start at some point, as Trubisky looks to jump-start a career that never really got going at a high level and Foles takes one more shot at becoming a franchise QB. Foles (never mind that he went 0-4 for a 6-10 Jaguars team last year) is seen by some as the favorite, but perhaps he will kindle a fire in Trubisky that Matt Nagy's offense has yet to do. Either way, this is one of the most high-profile position battles that lies ahead, not just as it relates to Chicago, but the NFL landscape.

Biggest strength: The -led defensive front. When Mack joined the Bears in 2018, he made an immediate impact, bringing a ferociousness and a legitimacy that had long been absent from the unit. With a certified monster back in the Midway, the Bears' defense was suddenly a dominant and fearsome force they would surely write songs about decades down the line following a collection of titles. Nope -- instead, 2019 happened. Mack's stats waned, but he's still one of the most talented players around, and he impacts a game like few others. The addition of pass rusher Robert Quinn should increase the sack numbers, and the return of a healthy might even be more important. Nose tackle is an underrated asset up front, having started 46 games over the last three seasons, going about his work in lunch-pail fashion. Sacks (50 to 32) and takeaways (36 to 19) dropped for the Bears in a big way in 2019, though they still allowed less than 20 points per game. Throw in the returns of linebackers and from injury, and those numbers figure to trend upward.

Biggest weakness: Offensive line. Despite the cavalcade of criticism heaped upon Trubisky, the Bears' offense was wholly atrocious last season in every which way that wasn't . That includes the offensive line. Great offensive lines are taken for granted. Bad offensive lines are almost equally overlooked, because standout skill players still somehow succeed or lesser players flounder and draw criticism. In the case of Trubisky, the Bears traded up to select him ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in one of the most quickly realized classic blunders of all time. That doesn't change the offensive line's woes, though. Drawing depressing ratings of 29th and 25th from Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus, respectively, the Bears' offensive front allowed 45 sacks (21st in the NFL), and the running game averaged only 3.7 yards per rush (30th). This was a major ill for the Bears that doesn't appear to have been remedied.

Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: Tight ends /. This spot could've been taken by Foles, as well, but for the sake of mixing it up, let's go with two of the 27 (or so) Bears tight ends (it's only nine on the latest depth chart). Trey Burton, who turned a Super Bowl win with the Eagles into a four-year, $32 million deal in Chicago, somehow led all Bears tight ends with just 14 catches in eight games, leading to his release this offseason. Chicago puzzled many with the signing of Graham, whose glory days seem to have come and gone a couple teams ago. The addition became an even greater head-scratcher when the Bears used their first pick of the draft on Notre Dame's Cole Kmet. Kmet feels like he's meant to be with Chicago, though, as a big-bodied, versatile presence who grew up rooting for Da Bears. Note that Trubisky's 2018 campaign was Burton's best year. And when Foles won the Super Bowl MVP award with the Eagles, he threw the game-winning score to tight end Zach Ertz. Translation: No matter who's quarterbacking the Bears, there's a better chance of success with production from the tight end(s).

Jeff Joniak examines Bears' QB competition, TE situation Detroit Lions Detroit Lions 2019 record: 3-12-1 Most important position battle: Running back. Running back is a position in need of consistent production and contribution if the Lions are to alleviate the burden on Matthew Stafford's shoulders. Last season was emblematic of Detroit's long-standing problems with the running game, as Kerryon Johnson -- who missed eight games -- led the team with a meager 403 yards rushing. Bo Scarbrough, J.D. McKissic and Ty Johnson each got starts in the absence of Kerryon, who's missed 14 games in his two seasons. On the heels of back-to-back 1,000-yard college campaigns, D'Andre Swift offers up fresh legs, fresh potential and a fresh chance at locating a consistent threat out of the backfield. Swift and Kerryon Johnson are each likely to get their share of carries as they vie for lead-back status -- and to end the Lions' streak without a 1,000-yard rusher, which dates back to 2013 (Reggie Bush).

Biggest strength on roster: Quarterback Matthew Stafford. Going 3-4-1 is hardly sensational, but it's in another universe compared to 0-8. That was how the 2019 Lions fared with Stafford and without. Eleven seasons in, Stafford is the Lions' all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns by spectacular margins. He has been the face of the franchise for some time -- and he's the Lions' best and most important player. Can he remain so after a back injury halted a streak of 136 straight starts? Before his season was interrupted by the injury, he'd compiled a 106.0 quarterback rating and a yards-per-attempt mark of 8.6 -- each career highs -- to go with 312.4 yards and 2.4 touchdowns per outing, which were his best showings since 2011. For the first time since 1952, a Detroit Lion led the league in catches, as Kenny Golladay hauled in 11, with seven coming over the first eight weeks from Stafford. With Stafford slinging it, the Lions have a shot at moving up and making noise. Without him ... well, the last half of last year can speak to that.

Biggest weakness: Defensive backfield. An NFL-worst 284.4 passing yards per game were allowed by the Lions a season ago. Three-win teams will have weaknesses aplenty, but the Detroit defense came away with an NFL-low seven interceptions and saw its secondary ranked 28th by PFF. During an offseason that featured myriad roster changes, trading away perennial Pro Bowler Darius Slay garnered the most notice, but Slay had a largely lackluster season -- he drew a 56.4 overall grade from PFF. Bringing in (who earned a 70.2 grade from PFF) was a very underrated addition that could even be an upgrade in the short term and a larger boon when considering the economics (the Eagles are paying Slay $16.7 million per year over three years, while the Lions are paying Trufant $10.5 million per year over two). And, of course, there's the selection of Ohio State's Jeff Okudah at No. 3 overall. How quickly Okudah can turn around a struggling secondary remains to be seen.

Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: Linebacker Jamie Collins. The addition of Collins is as important as it is symbolic. Coach Matt Patricia's vision of a Patriots redux in Motown has thus far floundered, and his job is on the line. A year ago, Trey Flowers was the most notable of multiple former New England players to be brought on board by the ex-Pats defensive coordinator. Flowers' seven-sack debut hardly seems like a resounding success. In Collins, the Lions get a versatile 30-year-old linebacker who began 2019 looking like an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, though by the end of the year, he wasn't even a starter in the playoffs. The three-year, $30 million signing could pay large dividends -- or he could be another former Patriot who doesn't pan out, providing all the more reason for a Patricia departure.

Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers 2019 record: 13-3 Most important position battle: Wide receiver No. 2. The 2020 NFL Draft came and went with the Packers perplexing many by choosing Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round and selecting nary a single wide receiver to aid Aaron Rodgers or Davante Adams in the quest to repeat as NFC North champs and make another deep playoff run. So a familiar quandary exists: Who will be the No. 2 receiver opposite Adams? On paper, 6-foot-4 speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling seems like a viable option, but after two pedestrian seasons, it might be time to turn the page. It's likely to come down to second-year pro Allan Lazard and free-agent acquisition Devin Funchess. Both are big targets, with Lazard seemingly having more upside due to his youth and a budding chemistry with Rodgers, while Funchess is coming off a one-game, one-year stay in Indianapolis.

Biggest strength on roster: Offensive line. Mr. Rodgers isn't the same scrambling, gunslinging wonder he once was. He's still the face of the franchise, though, and he's still able to scramble and sling it well, in large part because he sets up behind a stellar O-line. Anchored by David Bakhtiari -- one of the best pass-protectors around -- the unit is also highlighted by the impressive center play of Corey Linsley. Second-year player Elgton Jenkins could develop into a top-tier guard, too. There are questions on the right side, with Lane Taylor and Billy Turner likely fighting it out at guard, and Rick Wagner aiming to come off a down year and replace Bryan Bulaga (who signed with the Chargers) at tackle.

Biggest weakness: Wide receiver depth. It's arduous to call the receiving corps a weakness when you have Adams, who's established himself as one of the premier players at his position. However, the storyline of limited options beyond Adams has become comically redundant for the Pack. The best hope is that Lazard emerges as a special talent. Regardless, something needs to change, as Adams has led Green Bay by huge margins in every notable receiving category for too long. Since 2017, Adams has paced the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in each season. Though he missed four games last year, he still had 48 more catches and 520 more yards than any other wideout on the roster.

Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: Running back AJ Dillon. Love was the most high-profile addition to the Packers, and though that's likely to be a storyline for much of 2020, he's unlikely to play a relevant down (barring injury). Dillon's selection was also a bit confusing, considering veteran back Aaron Jones finally had that huge season many have been waiting to see in 2019. Dillon is a hoss, measuring 6-feet, 247 pounds. With coach Matt LaFleur's past coaching Derrick Henry with the Titans, at the very least, it's a curious predicament. Jones and Henry led the football world with 16 rushing touchdowns apiece a year ago, so aid on the goal line doesn't seem like a huge need for the Packers, and Jones is still only 25. He is entering the last year of his contract, though. Much has been made about the options Rodgers has to throw to, but it will be very interesting to see who he's handing off to as the season carries on.

Packers Roster Reset: How influx of young players impacts Rodgers Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings 2019 record: 10-6 Most important position battle: Offensive line. With all the unpredictability and changes to the offseason schedule, it's unlikely that a project such as second-round tackle Ezra Cleveland will displace Riley Reiff as Kirk Cousins' blind- side protector. The real area of concern is the interior of the offensive line. Projected starting guards Dakota Dozier and Pat Elflein will likely have to show some improvement in camp, with Dru Samia, Aviante Collins and possibly (and most interestingly) Cleveland sliding inside as the top contenders to cede them. Minnesota has ample talent at the skill positions but needs to solidify the line.

Biggest strength on roster: Safeties. Harrison Smith has been picked for five straight Pro Bowls -- the longest streak among defensive backs, per NFL Research. Somehow, Anthony Harris, who tied for the league lead with six picks, didn't make the Pro Bowl in 2019. Together, they formed a safety duo so impressive that PFF ranked the Vikings as the No. 3 coverage unit of 2019 despite none of the team's cornerbacks drawing a top-25 rating. Mike Zimmer defenses seem to excel every season; right now, the terrific tandem of Harris (PFF's top-ranked safety) and Smith (PFF's second-ranked safety) is a major reason and a major strength.

Biggest weakness: Cornerbacks. Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander and Trae Waynes are all gone from a cornerback corps that struggled mightily a season ago, depending largely on phenomenal safety play to bail them out. Neither Rhodes, who allowed the highest completion percentage (84.3) when targeted in the league, per PFF, nor Waynes (65.1 PFF overall grade) or Alexander (65.7) graded in the top 25 of their position, with Rhodes grading out at 46.4, his puzzling Pro Bowl selection notwithstanding. First-round pick Jeff Gladney should step in and step up right away, perhaps offering an immediate improvement despite his rookie status. One of the few returners, former first-rounder Mike Hughes, is likely to start opposite Gladney, but after earning a PFF grade of 58.7 last year, Hughes will have to avoid sputtering again if he is to hold off rookies Cameron Dantzler (a third-round pick) and Harrison Hand (a fifth-rounder) and third-year pro Holton Hill.

Newcomer/player returning from injury to watch: Wide receivers Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. Stefon Diggs' departure via trade will be a sizable one to overcome. Thielen missed six games a season ago and was hindered throughout with a nagging hamstring injury. With Thielen having averaged 102 catches and 1,324 yards the previous two seasons when he played full 16-game slates (2017 and '18), and having showcased chemistry with Cousins, his return will be anticipated, as will his pairing with first-rounder Justin Jefferson. Jefferson's coming off an astounding campaign at LSU -- 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns -- and is a bit bigger, a bit faster and obviously younger than Diggs. Dating back to when he took over as the full-time starter in Washington in 2015, Cousins has never had the same leading receiver two seasons in a row. That'll continue in 2020, as a returning Thielen and a debuting Jefferson look to replace the production of Diggs. PUBLICATION: Associated Press DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings’ infection control officer tests positive for COVID

By Dave Campbell

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The day before the scheduled arrival of returning players to training camps around the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings served as a sobering example of the challenge of running a football team during a global pandemic.

Vice president of sports medicine Eric Sugarman, who’s in charge of the organization’s virus prevention strategy, has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced.

About four hours later on Monday, the Vikings placed four rookies — including first-round draft pick wide receiver Justin Jefferson — on the league’s newly created reserve list for COVID-19. Those players, the Vikings said, were not infected by Sugarman.

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Sugarman said he and his family members immediately quarantined themselves and began following the NFL’s related protocols after receiving the news of the positive tests over the weekend. Sugarman, who has two teenage sons with his wife, Heather, was appointed infection control officer for the Vikings earlier this year after the virus outbreak necessitated such a role.

“At this time we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms,” Sugarman said. “I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months. I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career.

“But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally.”

The Vikings said they’ve tested all individuals who’d recently been in close contact with Sugarman, who has begun his 15th season as the team’s head athletic trainer and his 24th year in the league.

Sugarman had not had any recent contact with players, the Vikings said, and no additional cases within the team’s front office had been reported to date. Sugarman will handle his duties as infection control officer remotely as much as possible until his return.

“The health and safety of every member of our organization, our fans and of the broader community is paramount,” the Vikings said in their statement. “We encourage everyone to take this virus seriously and to practice the established precautions.”

Joining Jefferson on the reserve list were offensive tackle Blake Brandel, safety Brian Cole II and center Tyler Higby. Brandel (sixth round) and Cole (seventh round) were draft picks, and Higby was a college free agent.

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Rookies, quarterbacks and other selected players reported to camp for testing on Thursday, before the balance of the roster is due in on Tuesday. There were six players around the league placed on the reserve COVID-19 list on Sunday and 18 more added on Monday.

The new reserve list category was created for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. Clubs are not permitted to disclose whether a player is actually positive for COVID-19 or simply in quarantine following close contact with known carriers.

The Vikings made Sugarman available to reporters on a video conference call on July 20 to detail some of the league’s virus protocols for this most unusual training camp. The safeguards range from increased spacing in the locker room and meeting rooms to wrist-worn proximity tracking devices to help maximize social distancing.

“We have a different, more impactful responsibility to make sure we do the right thing and to keep this virus outside of this building to the best of our ability,” Sugarman said during the media session last week.

“So personally I have confidence that we can do it. We have taken every step to make this building as safe as possible, and I’m hopeful we can make this work.” PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 7/28/20

Three Vikings Have Made the NFL Top 100 Players Ranking So Far

By Will Ragatz

The NFL Top 100 is an annual rankings show on NFL Network that unveils the league's 100 best players, as voted on by current players. It began on Sunday with Nos. 100 to 71 and continued Monday with 70 to 41. This is the tenth year the league has done this, and it's always interesting – and sometimes surprising – to see who the players think are the NFL's best.

Thus far, three Vikings have made the list. It seems like a safe bet that at least a fourth will be added when the top 40 are announced on Tuesday.

Eric Kendricks: No. 83 2019 ranking: N/A

On Sunday, Kendricks became the first Viking to appear on the Top 100, checking in at No. 83. This is his first season on the list, and it's a well-deserved honor after a breakout season. With that said, it's hard not to think that Kendricks should be much higher than 83rd. Pro Football Focus rated him as the second-best linebacker in the league in 2019 with a grade of 90.1. He was tied for the league lead among LBs with 12 passes defended, put up a fourth-straight season of 100-plus tackles, and forced two fumbles.

PFF ranked Kendricks 14th in their top 101 players of 2019. He has earned some love from his fellow players, but deserves even more.

Video segment:

Harrison Smith: No. 64 2019 ranking: No. 83

Talk about another player who is too low on this list: Smith checks in at No. 64 in his fifth consecutive appearance on the NFL Top 100. Perpetually underrated, Smith has never been higher than No. 46 despite being consistently one of the best safeties in the league for half a decade. PFF graded Smith as the third-best safety in the NFL last year and placed him 35th on their Top 101.

Video segment:

Kirk Cousins: No. 58 2019 ranking: No. 78

It's cool to see Cousins get some respect from his fellow players, especially because he's often unfairly ridiculed by the national public. Cousins had the best season of his career in 2019, grading as PFF's sixth-best QB and ranking fourth in passer rating. He also changed some of the narratives surrounding his career by winning a couple big games, including a Sunday Night Football win in Dallas and a clutch playoff upset in New Orleans.

Video segment:

Other Notes Former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs checked in at No. 54 on the list. It seems like the national recognition of his elite talent has only increased since he was traded to the Bills. Vikings who could appear in the top 40: Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Cook, Anthony Harris, and Adam Thielen. Hunter is a lock. If he's not in the top 40, there will be riots in the streets. He was No. 57 last year. Cook could also make the top 40, though I'm not sure it'll happen. He had an outstanding 2019 season and seems to have a lot of respect across the league. Harris and Thielen would surprise me. Harris absolutely should be in the top 100, but given that we haven't seen him yet, I doubt he's in the top 40. That's a shame, considering he's been one of the best safeties in the league for the past two years. Thielen was No. 33 last year and No. 36 in 2018, but his hamstring injury and advancing age seems to have bumped him out of the top 100 entirely. I think a lot of people are forgetting just how good he is. These rankings are interesting, but take them with a grain of salt. For example, Jimmy Garoppolo was No. 43 and Todd Gurley was No. 51. Neither of those makes a lot of sense whatsoever. PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 7/28/20

Vikings Infection Control Officer Eric Sugarman Tests Positive For COVID-19

By Will Ragatz

Eric Sugarman, the Vikings' head athletic trainer and current Infection Control Officer, has tested positive for COVID- 19, according to a statement released by the team. Members of Sugarman's family have also tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Neither Sugarman nor his family members are experiencing anything worse than "mild symptoms."

"Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts," the team's statement says. "Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their well-being."

According to the statement, Sugarman has not had recent contact with any players. Rookies began to "report" to training camp on Thursday, but have yet to actually get in the facility because that requires multiple negative COVID- 19 tests. The Vikings said that everyone who has been in close contact with Sugarman recently is being tested, and that no additional cases in the front office have been identified at the moment.

"We have followed the team's protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric. Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines."

Sugarman will continue to operate virtually as the team's ICO as much as possible. Other Vikings personnel and members of the athletic training staff will have to step up their roles within the facility with the organization's leader in coronavirus safety measures isolating at home.

Sugarman also released a statement on top of the Vikings' announcement.

"I have an immense amount of pride in the effort I have personally put forth to protect the NFL family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and our community with thoughtfulness and decision-making based on the current science over these last four months," he said. "I am humble to be serving in that capacity as it has been some of the most rewarding work of my career. But as I sit here in quarantine, it is clear this virus does not discriminate. It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally. At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery. I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols."

Here is a detailed rundown of the Vikings' thorough, Sugarman-led efforts to prepare for a training camp amid an ongoing pandemic.

PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 7/28/20

The Packers Have Interest in Former Vikings DE Everson Griffen

By Will Ragatz

With NFL training camps about to begin, former Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen is still without a team. However, the last few days have brought some news when it comes to the future of Griffen, whose home for the 2020 season will likely be determined soon.

On Saturday, in a conference call with local reporters about his new contract extension, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said he would love to have Griffen back.

"[Griffen] texted me the other day telling me congratulations and things like that," Zimmer said. "I’d love to have him back. He’s always been one of my guys, so if that happens that’d be great. I don’t know where that’s at right now.’’

On Monday, a very interesting twist to the story was reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapaport. He tweeted that the Green Bay Packers are among the teams showing interest in Griffen.

"As long-time Vikings DE and current free agent Everson Griffen narrows down his choices, the rival Packers are among the teams to express interest," Rapaport said. "That interest is mutual."

Wouldn't that be something? Griffen heading across the border to Green Bay would be a lot to take in for Vikings fans, especially because he's become a fan favorite during his decade in Minnesota. The Packers already have edge rushers Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith at outside linebacker, but Griffen could presumably play defensive end in their 3-4 defense and make their pass rush even more deadly.

The key part of Rapaport's tweet is that the "interest is mutual." Griffen is open to the possibility of playing for the Packers, so this is something that should be taken seriously. I would assume that a veteran of his caliber is frustrated by still being without a team as August approaches and won't be too picky about where he ends up.

Griffen opted out of the final three years of his contract in February. He had a rare player-controlled void in his contract based on incentives that he cleared in 2019. Opting out was a logical move given that the salary cap- strapped Vikings would've almost certainly been forced to release him otherwise.

A month later, Griffen announced that he wouldn't be returning to the Vikings by saying a public goodbye on social media. His agent announced that the two sides had broken off talks.

That was over four months ago, and Griffen still doesn't know where he'll be playing next. Obviously, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is a major reason why he has gone unsigned for so long. Prospective suitors generally want to meet face-to-face with free agents to do a physical and an interview before giving out big-time contracts. That might be even more important with Griffen, who dealt with some scary mental health struggles in 2018. The pandemic resulted in team facilities shutting down, which meant Griffen couldn't have those necessary in-person meetings.

But with training camps beginning this week, I wouldn't be surprised if Griffen sat down with some teams and found a home soon. In addition to the Packers, the Cardinals and Seahawks have previously been rumored to be interested in Griffen.

A return to Minnesota is also a legitimate possibility, even after he said goodbye. He's familiar with the coaches, players, and system, so it might be the most logical fit for Griffen. Ifeadi Odenigbo is set to replace him in the starting lineup, but the Vikings would absolutely benefit from bringing back the veteran Griffen.

Griffen has spent the first ten seasons of his career with the Vikings, who drafted him in the fourth round out of USC in 2010. He has 74.5 sacks during that time, which places him fourth on the franchise's all-time leaderboard. Griffen also became an emotional leader for the team and an important figure in the Twin Cities community.

He turns 33 in December, but Griffen still has plenty of football left in him. He had eight sacks last season and received the second-best grade of his career (77.6) from Pro Football Focus.

Griffen has 12.5 sacks in 21 career games against the Packers, including playoffs. That trails only his 16 career sacks against the Detroit Lions for his most against any team.

The Vikings and Packers are set to meet in Week 1 of the 2020 season at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 13th.

PUBLICATION: Maven Media DATE: 7/28/20

Four Vikings Rookies, Including Justin Jefferson, Placed on Reserve/COVID-19 List

By Will Ragatz

Four Vikings rookies have been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced on Monday afternoon. First-round pick Justin Jefferson (WR), late-round picks Blake Brandel (T) and Brian Cole II (S), and undrafted free agent Tyler Higby (OL) have been placed on this newly-created list.

It's important to note that this doesn't mean any or all of those players have tested positive for COVID-19. Here's the official explanation from the Vikings:

This new reserve list category was created for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. If a player falls into either of these categories, their club is required to immediately place the player on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Per agreed upon NFL- NFLPA policy, clubs are not permitted to comment on player's medical status other than referring to roster status. Clubs may not disclose whether player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.

Basically, this just means that those four players have either tested positive or been in close contact with someone who has. The Vikings aren't permitted to disclose which one it is.

This is separate from the news earlier Monday that head athletic trainer and Vikings Infection Control Officer Eric Sugarman had tested positive for the coronavirus. Sugarman hasn't been in contact with any players recently. The Vikings' 27 rookies reported to camp last Thursday and were tested, but haven't begun actually training in the facility yet.

The rest of the Vikings' roster is set to report on Tuesday. They will all be tested, which could lead to more players being placed on this reserve list.

Here is a detailed rundown of the Vikings' thorough, Sugarman-led efforts to prepare for a training camp amid an ongoing pandemic. PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 7/28/20

Harrison Smith Named to NFL Network's 'Top 100' for 5th Straight Year

By Eric Smith

EAGAN, Minn. — In December, Harrison Smith was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl, which made him of 13 players in Vikings history to make five straight appearances in the game.

The do-it-all safety has also now made the NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2020 list for the fifth straight season, as Smith was unveiled at No. 64 on Monday night.

That was an improvement from the No. 83 spot from 2019. He was 46th in 2018, No. 74 in 2017 and 73rd in 2016.

Smith's versatility left an impression on a pair of his opponents in 2019.

Top 100 Players of 2020: Harrison Smith | No. 64 "He's all over the field," said Packers running back Aaron Jones. "Pre-snap, you might see him down on the line of scrimmage. But as soon as the ball hikes, you might see him back in the middle of the field.

"He plays with a lot of energy and flies around," Jones added. "He's hard hitter."

Added Giants tight end Evan Engram: "When you watch him on field, you think of him like a spider, just jumping around the field. The dude is just rangy … he's a hell of a player."

Engram recalled a hit from "Harry The Hitman" in Week 5 during which Smith broke up a pass down the seam.

The tight end, who noted that "had the biggest impact in the game" of any safety he saw in 2019, described what it was like to get popped by Smith.

"That hit, he gave me a nice hit … I thought I had an easy touchdown," Engram said. "As soon as the ball hit my hands … bam, right in the back. He was right there in a split second.

"My eyes were wide open … the ball was coming, and I'm fully relaxed," Engram continued. "As soon as the ball hit my hands, I'm getting rocked. I was shook because when I took my eyes off him, he had outside leverage and was backpedaling.

"That is the hardest I've been hit in my three years," Engram added. "He got a lot of my respect that game."

RELATED LINKS Eric Kendricks Cracks NFL Network’s ‘Top 100’ at No. 83

Harrison Smith 2019 Season Highlights Smith tied for the team lead with 12 passes defended in 2019. Analytics site Pro Football Focus graded Smith at 91.4 for his play this past season, which trailed only teammate Anthony Harris (91.6) among all safeties.

A pair of Smith's former defensive teammates raved about what it was like to share the field with a player was is seemingly all over it for four quarters.

"It looks like he's freelancing or improving a play, but because he's so into the film and has seen it before, that's why he breaks so fast and hits so hard and knows where to be," said former Vikings defensive end , who is now in Carolina. "He's always in the right place at the right time."

Former Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes, now with the Bengals, added: "We had a joke in the DB room that Harry gets to blitz whenever he wants to. Whenever Harry gets on the line [of scrimmage] … he gets to blitz again.

"He disguises it so well," Waynes added.

Smith recorded 84 total tackles (team stats) with five tackles for loss, a sack, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and three interceptions.

2019 Season in Photos: Vikings S Harrison Smith View the top photos of Vikings S Harrison Smith from the 2019 season.

His 23 career interceptions rank seventh in team history, and he ranks first among all franchise players with four career interception returns for touchdowns.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks was the first Vikings player unveiled on the list as he made his debut at No. 83 on Sunday night.

The series, which was created in 2011, continues on NFL Network on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (CT) with players 40- 31, 30-21 and 20-11 revealed over the course of three, one-hour episodes.

The listing of the players in the 70-61 grouping were as follows:

70. Fred Warner, LB, San Francisco

69. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona

68. Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee

67. Demario Davis, LB, New Orleans

66. Laremy Tunsil, OT, Houston

65. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle

64. Smith

63. Preston Smith, LB, Green Bay

62. David Bakhtiari, LB, Green Bay

61. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland PUBLICATION: Vikings Entertainment Network DATE: 7/28/20

Lunchbreak: CBA Adjustments to Include Increased Practice Squad, 'Ramp-Up' Period

By Lindsey Young

The NFL and NFLPA came to an agreement Friday afternoon on "the foundation necessary to play amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

Discussions about adjustments to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement have been ongoing for weeks. According to NFL.com's Nick Shook, the changes were approved by a player representative vote, by a count of 29-3.

Most veteran players across the league, including the Vikings, are scheduled to report for their respective training camps on July 28.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the following:

"We have worked collaboratively to develop a comprehensive set of protocols designed to minimize risk for fans, players, and club and league personnel. These plans have been guided by the medical directors of the NFL and the NFLPA and have been reviewed and endorsed by independent medical and public health experts, including the CDC, and many state and local public health officials. The season will undoubtedly present new and additional challenges, but we are committed to playing a safe and complete 2020 season, culminating with the Super Bowl."

Shook wrote:

The agreed-upon deal includes an allowance for 16-man practice squads, high-risk and voluntary opt-outs of participation and the absence of a preseason for 2020, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported.

For players who opt out of participating, high-risk candidates will receive a $350,000 stipend and their contract will toll, per Pelissero. Voluntary opt-outs will receive a $150,000 salary advance and their contract will toll as well. Opt- outs are due within seven days of the deal being finalized.

Examples of the CDC's defined "increased risk" categories would include moderate-to-severe asthma, sickle cell disease or Type 2 diabetes.

Shook referenced NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who reported that training camps are "set to be comprised of 20 days of a ramp-up period and a maximum of 14 padded practices."

"So what you'll see is a couple weeks of strength and conditioning only after players get tested," Rapoport said. "We won't see football necessarily for some time, probably be a couple weeks. And then you'll see more OTA-style practices with helmets, but it'll more look like kind of passing camp. And then after a couple of weeks you'll finally get pads. But because there are no preseason games … teams are allowed the ability to really ramp up slowly."

Another adjustment as a result of the coronavirus is that the NFL will "spread the impact of any 2020 revenue shortfall" over four years, beginning in 2021. This means that the 2020 cap of $198.2 million remains unchanged; according to Shook, the salary cap next season will be at least $175 million.

Rapoport also explained that rosters must be trimmed down to 80 players by Aug. 16 and no more than 80 players are allowed in the building at one time.

Top 100 Players of 2020: Eric Kendricks | No. 83 Vikings LBs ranked in PFF's top 10

On Sunday, Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks finally cracked NFL Network's Top 100 when he came in at No. 83 on the list.

Kendricks received All-Pro honors and earned a trip to his first career Pro Bowl following an impressive 2019 campaign, during which analytics site Pro Football Focus said he made "a legitimate case for Defensive Player of the Year."

It's easy to argue that Kendricks and Anthony Barr are one of the NFL's best linebacker duos, having impressed since being drafted in 2015 and 2014, respectively.

PFF's Steve Palazzolo recently ranked all 32 linebacker units entering the 2020 season and tabbed the Vikings eighth-best, pointing out that Kendricks' 90.2 overall regular-season grade and 12 pass breakups led all players at the position. Palazzolo wrote:

Kendricks had produced grades in the 60.0s in his previous three seasons, so last year was one in which he finally put it all together in each phase. In addition to Kendricks' playmaking in coverage, he also had the third-best run- defense grade (90.1) while tying for 10thwith 17 pressures.

According to Palazzolo, Barr finished with a 60.6 overall grade in 2019. He said the seventh-year LB "has been reasonable in the run game" and has rushed the passer more than 100 times in each of the past six seasons.

Eric Wilson manned the No. 3 spot last season, grading out at 66.7. He'll have competition in Ben Gedeon, who produced a 60.1 grade on 102 snaps last season, and fourth-round pick Troy Dye, one of the better coverage linebackers in the draft who has the length to be a weapon against tight ends.

The Vikings have a solid group that plays to their defensive style. Another high-end year from Kendricks makes this one of the top units in the league.

Ranked ahead of Minnesota by Palazzolo from 1-7, respectively, were Seattle, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Atlanta.

GMFB: How Important Is Dalvin Cook To The Vikings' Success In 2020? CBS Sports lists 1 'make-or-break' game for all 32 teams

Assuming that the 2020 regular season kicks off as scheduled, we're less than two months away from Minnesota's season opener against Green Bay on Sept. 13.

CBS Sports' John Breech delved into every team's 16-game slate and picked one contest "that could go a long way to deciding the season" for that club. He said that "although every regular-season game is important, some of them are more important than others, and those are the games that we're going to take a look at right now."

The Vikings have a number of games on their schedule in 2020 that could prove pivotal, but Breech specifically zeroed in on their Week 5 road game at Seattle on Sunday Night Football.

I think it's fair to say that Vikings fans are getting a little fatigued from seeing the non-division foe on the regular- season schedule. Breech wrote:

For the past two years, the Vikings game against the Seahawks has turned into a "make-or-break" situation for Minnesota, so we're just going to assume it's going to happen again in 2020. Two years ago, the Vikings lost to the Seahawks in Week 14 and then ended up missing the postseason by one game. In 2019, the Vikings went to the playoffs as a [No. 6 seed] but could have been at least one spot higher if they had been able to beat the Seahawks in Week 13.

Breech added that the Minnesota-Seattle game "always seems to have playoff implications."