11 Things to Know about the 2025 Vikings with the Season 11 Weeks Away
The Minnesota Vikings’ regular season starts popping 11 weeks from Monday night when Kevin O’Connell and friends travel to Soldier Field in Chicago for a date with the Chicago Bears.
Training camp is about five weeks away, and the 2025 Vikings have all the storylines. Here are 11 things you need to know about the team with the season 11 weeks away.
The team is expected to win 8.5 games, according to sportsbooks, so it will have to beat the odds to reach the postseason.
And to prepare you for Vikings football in 2025, these are 11 things to know about the team with 11 weeks before showtime, listed in no particular order.
1. No Back-to-Back Playoffs in 15+ Years
The Vikings haven’t reached the postseason in consecutive years since the end of the Tarvaris Jackson era and the beginning of Brett Favre’s stop in the Twin Cities — 2008 and 2009.
If O’Connell’s group punches a ticket to the postseason, even as a Wildcard combatant, the drought will end.
2. Jordan Addison Could Be Suspended
Wide receiver Jordan Addison has a trial scheduled in July to determine the legal outcome of a 2024 DUI arrest in Los Angeles. The infraction may be settled before trial, but in all likelihood, Addison will face a three-game suspension, probably to start the regular season.
If so, Minnesota would turn to Jalen Nailor, Tai Felton, and Rondale Moore in addition to Justin Jefferson in the meantime.
3. Three Compensatory Draft Picks Are in Play
The Vikings are virtually guaranteed a 2026 3rd-Round compensatory draft pick because of Sam Darnold’s departure this offseason, just like the Kirk Cousins arrangement last year.
Then, Minnesota will receive a 4th-Rounder if Daniel Jones plays over 60.6% of snaps as the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback and might pull down a 7th-Rounder for Trent Sherfield’s free-agent expedition to Denver.
If it all goes according to plan, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is looking at an extra 3rd-, 4th-, and 7th-Rounder next April.
4. 86% of Super Bowl-Winning Coaches Win the Chip in First Five Years on the Job
If O’Connell wins the Super Bowl in Minnesota and ends the Vikings’ long drought, it will probably happen in the next two years. The percentage checks in at 85.7%, Super Bowl-winning coaches who won the chip within their first five years with the team.
These are the exceptions:
- Tom Landry — Year No. 6
- Chuck Noll — Year No. 6
- John Madden — Year No. 8
- Bill Cowher — Year No. 14
- Andy Reid — Year No. 7
The clock isn’t necessarily ticking for O’Connell, but history shows a successful skipper usually wins the title within his first five years, seven if a team finds Patrick Mahomes.
5. Everyone Is on Christian Darrisaw Watch
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw tore his ACL on October 24, 2024. A standard ACL recovery — these days, anyway — would have him back in the saddle around the end of August. Also known as perfect timing.
Darrisaw also showed up to mandatory minicamp earlier this month, a welcome sight for everybody. However, folks will need confirmation that Darrisaw is a full go in 2025, and that clarity won’t emerge until August.
6. Vikings OL Is Best on Paper in Years
This is the Vikings’ reconditioned offensive line:
- Christian Darrisaw (LT)
- Donovan Jackson (LG)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- Will Fries (RG)
- Brian O’Neill (RT)
Ed Ingram, Dalton Risner, and Garrett Bradbury left the purple team. Blake Brandel is now a reserve commodity. It’s the best Vikings’ offensive line in years — probably 15 to be precise.
7. Dallas Turner Guaranteed More Snaps
Last year, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel’s Pro Bowl breakout seasons prevented Dallas Turner from starting, and players like Patrick Jones II and Jihard Ward hogged the other EDGE snaps in Brian Flores’ defense.
Jones II and Ward no longer work for the Vikings, so, almost out of necessity, Turner will get more playing time. Book it.
8. No Kicker Competition
Will Reichard is the team’s kicker, and there is no “other” specialist to push Reichard to the limit.
It’s just him.
Reichard hopes to rekindle the habits that caused fans to fall in love last September and October. After injuring his quad in the middle of the season in 2024, he never looked the same.
9. The Schedule Is Brutal
Minnesota has the league’s fifth-most difficult schedule. It doesn’t matter which strength of schedule metric you find on the internet — they all confirm that the 2025 docket is daunting.
O’Connell and Co. don’t really have “easy” games in 2025, at least not from a June viewpoint.
10. Josh Metellus Needs an Extension
Without being overly confrontational, safety Josh Metellus basically confirmed at minicamp that his agent and the Vikings’ brass were negotiating an extension. Metellus is winding down a contract that pays him $4 million annually, and his next paycheck will likely climb to $10 million per season.
When you see Metellus-related contract chatter, it’s real.
11. J.J. McCarthy the Vikings’ First Top 10 Draft QB … Ever
Minnesota has never drafted a quarterback in the Top 10 of a draft. It did precisely that in April 2024, but J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus before the regular season got underway.
If Vikings football feels different this summer, it’s because the franchise has never invested in a quarterback like this — not with this much draft capital.
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