The Vikings hosted the 49ers for two days of joint practices in Kevin O’Connell’s first training camp with the team. This year, they’ll double their efforts with a pair of different teams.
O’Connell said Tuesday the Vikings will hold two days of joint practices with each of the teams visiting U.S. Bank Stadium for preseason games this August. They will practice against the Titans, who play in Minneapolis on Aug. 19, before hosting two days of joint practices against the Cardinals in advance of the Aug. 26 preseason finale against Arizona.
“It will give us a tremendous opportunity to have four days of really good competition,” O’Connell said. “I know both [Titans coach Mike] Vrabel and [Cardinals coach Jonathan] Gannon. Both of those guys, I have personal relationships with and know what kind of leaders they are. I know what kind of teams they’ll be bring here, ready to make sure we get some great work.”
Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah worked with new Titans GM Ran Carthon in San Francisco, and the Vikings interviewed Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort before hiring Adofo-Mensah a year ago. Gannon was as an assistant defensive backs coach on former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s staff from 2014-17.
The Vikings viewed last year’s practices with the 49ers as some of their most important preseason work for the veterans who didn’t play in any of the team’s three exhibition games, as the Vikings kept many of their established starters off the field to preserve their health for the regular season. They could take a similar approach this year, given the fact they’ll have four days of competitive practices following their Aug. 10 preseason opener in Seattle.
“If there’s a chance to use those [games] to help solidify the best 53 guys for our team, we’re going to do that, but never at the cost of potentially overly putting your players at risk,” O’Connell said. “And that’s where I think, to get your starting groups 70, 80 percent of the work on those [joint practice] days, those guys feel they played a preseason game and then some.”