EAGAN, Minn. — Sportsmanship can present in good times, but it is perhaps best revealed when someone encounters challenging times.
Five-time Vikings captain Brian O'Neill is a mainstay of sportsmanship, providing a guide to younger players and newcomers on the Vikings throughout the year. He also showed his character while recovering from a knee injury suffered against Pittsburgh in Week 4.
O'Neill's impact is clear among Vikings coaches and teammates and is why he was selected as Minnesota's nominee for the leaguewide 2025 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, which was announced Wednesday.
A panel of NFL Legends will evaluate the 32 nominees and select four finalists from the NFC and four more from the AFC. Those eight players will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot, and players are scheduled to vote on Dec. 9. The winner will be announced as part of NFL Honors ahead of Super Bowl LX.
"It's hard to express my gratitude for not only the player, the person," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "What it means in professional sports to be a great sportsman, it's not just being the nice guy out there. It means you are elite at how you work, how your teammates view you, how your coaches view you, how outside folks, whether it's other teams, the officials, other coaches, everybody views Brian O'Neill the same way, and it's been that way for his whole career.
"He is an absolute pillar for our organization, and I'm just excited he's getting recognized with this type of award because he's quite honestly a guy that needs to be recognized more for not only what he's meant to our team but the NFL," O'Connell added.
Despite the physicality required at his position, O'Neill has never been fined for his play through 119 games (115 starts).
Running back Aaron Jones, Sr., noted O'Neill is "always there to pick fellow NFL players up off the ground, and you don't always see that."
"He brings a great amount of energy and plays the game the right way," Jones added. "Just to see him respond from the injury, you can tell when he's out there, he's a big help, a big force. We are happy to have him. He really brings a lot of juice."
Jonathan Greenard, a first-year captain, has logged practice reps against O'Neill the past two seasons. He said O'Neill is a savvy competitor and "more of an athlete than people give him credit for."
"You could see the relationship [with guard Will Fries] build really fast. It just speaks to his character. He's an easy guy to get along with," Greenard said. "He loves the game of football. If you love the game of ball, he's going to fit right in with you.
"He's a great dude, a great teammate," Greenard added. "I'm not surprised one bit that he's getting recognized with this award. We all love B.O."
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