Under O’Connell, the Vikings have opted for the quickest trips possible. For the flight, players are offered sleep aids like melatonin and screen time is discouraged. The team preaches sleep because players will deplane Friday morning and head immediately into a work day.
“Friday is always a tough day,” O’Connell said. “Then we can get them some rest that night, and then they might be still feeling it a little bit Saturday. Light exposure, sleep, making sure when we’re working we’re up and we’re totally present. Then normally guys feel pretty darn good come Sunday.”
This is the third London trip for ninth-year fullback C.J. Ham, who said this will be his favorite trip because the team is staying overnight Sunday, enabling players and their families to go out after the game since they will be heading into a bye week.
The Vikings promoted tight end Robert Tonyan from the practice squad on Thursday and released running back Myles Gaskin to make room on the 53-man roster. Tonyan, the former Packers and Bears tight end, will likely be active for his third consecutive game Sunday as the third option behind Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt.
Tonyan has been replacing third-year tight end Nick Muse, who is on injured reserve. Muse said Thursday that he fractured his left hand during a first-quarter block in the Sept. 15 victory over the 49ers. He continued playing, recovered the onside kick in the fourth quarter, and said he didn’t know his hand was fractured until X-rays the next day.
Gaskin, the sixth-year veteran who has been the team’s No. 3 running back and averaged 20 yards on three kick returns over the past two weeks, will likely return to the practice squad, from where the team can elevate him one more time this season.