Poorly Kept Vikings Secret Is Out of the Bag
For weeks, the rumor mill hinted that the Minnesota Vikings would host the New England Patriots at TCO Performance Center in Eagan this summer for joint practices.
The news of one of the Vikings’ worst-kept secrets became official on Tuesday — the team will practice against the Patriots this summer.
As it turns out, that poorly-kept secret is a reality: indeed, Mike Vrabel’s team is coming to Eagan.
Vikings to Host Patriots for Joint Practices
Patriot Pulpit‘s Bernd Buchmasser wrote Tuesday, “The New England Patriots will hold two sets of joint practices this summer, head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. Besides the previously reported sessions with the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the two teams’ preseason meeting on Aug. 16, the Patriots will also team up with the Washington Commanders.”
“Those particular joint sessions will take place leading up to the two teams’ preseason opener on Aug. 8. The Commanders practices will be at Gillette Stadium, whereas the Vikings’ will take place in Minnesota.”
The news was also confirmed by Star Tribune, making it a done deal on Vikings-Patriots joint practices.
A Subsequent Preseason Game
After the joint practices, per recent standard procedure, Minnesota will host New England at U.S. Bank Stadium for a preseason game on August 16th.
The game will be noteworthy because purple fans will get a much-anticipated glimpse at quarterback J.J. McCarthy if head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t rest all starters. McCarthy tore his meniscus in a preseason game last year, so fans will a) hope he doesn’t get injured again b) be anxious to see him one year removed from his 2024 exhibition show, which was quite dazzling.
What to Know about the Patriots
New England moved on from head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season — a weird situation — hiring the aforementioned Vrabel in January. Vrabel took a year off head coaching duties after the Tennessee Titans fired him in early 2024, but the Patriots pounced this offseason.
The team also signed Stefon Diggs, who Minnesota fans will know intimately. In the draft, the Patriots chose offensive tackle Will Campbell (LSU), running back TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), and wide receiver Kyle Williams (Washington State) in the first few rounds.
On defense, well, the Patriots didn’t have too many problems in 2024, and Vrabel never has troubles propping up a defense.
The Drake Maye | J.J. McCarthy Angle
For inquisitive minds, New England will feature second-year quarterback Drake Maye at joint practices, a man heavily linked to the Vikings’ draft build-up in 2024. Many believed Minnesota would trade up the board for Maye, but the price was too extreme, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah picked J.J. McCarthy instead.
But for a few days of friendly battle, Maye and McCarthy will mix it up this summer.
Patriots HC on Joint Practices
Vrbael said about joint practice in Minnesota: “The Washington Commanders will come here, and then they play us. And then we’re excited to go to Minnesota. It’s a good setup that they have. Allows for great work, and the Vikings have an excellent football team. I’ve worked with them before, so excited to go back up there.”
“We’d love to go to Minnesota. We practiced with them a few years ago in Tennessee. It’s a nice setup. They have a beautiful facility, there’s a hotel close by to walk to the field, and we enjoyed working with Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores and their team.”
Book it; it’s a done deal.
Janik Eckardt on MIN-NE
And over at our sister site, PurplePTSD.com, Janik Eckardt opined on the Patriots as Minnesota’s dance partner: “Joint practices started to make waves a few years ago, and head coach O’Connell has been a huge proponent of the idea of sharing a practice field with other teams. The obvious advantage is that it’s new faces across from the players who have already faced the same guys for weeks. Justin Jefferson might get bored running routes against Byron Murphy Jr. all the time, and Christian Gonzalez is a nice change.”
“In addition to that, it’s a more competitive setting than normal practices, but without the contact of a real football game, which is why coaches start to lean toward giving their starters only a handful of reps in the preseason while getting most of the work done in those joint practices.”
Vrabel and O’Connell were teammates with the 2008 Patriots.
Eckardt concluded, “New England has some old friends under contract. Those include wide receiver Stefon Diggs, center Garrett Bradbury, and quarterback Josh Dobbs.”
The Vikings are expected by sportsbooks to win 8.5 games this season. The Patriots? 7.5.
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