Do you have a comment or question? Send it to the Mailbag. Every Monday we'll post several comments and/or questions. Click here to submit a comment or question to Mailbag. Remember to include your name and town in the email. If Twitter / X is your jam, you can send a question to me that way as well.

The Hitman returneth — and just in time for the 2026 regular season.

Harrison Smith and the Vikings on Saturday agreed to terms for the 2012 first-round pick to return to Minnesota for his 15^th NFL season. Smith is back at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center this morning.

The Vikings will open their 66^th slate by hosting the Green Bay Packers at 3:25 p.m. (CT) Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Assuming he suits up, it will be the 27^th Border Battle for Smith (out of 132 in the series). Memorably, the two teams met to conclude the 2025 season at the same venue, and Smith (just in case he didn't return) and C.J. Ham (who was playing in his final game) received tributes from the crowd.

The Vikings also will be wearing their Classic uniforms for the second straight home game against the Packers.

The rivalry rarely needs hype, but as an additional boost, CBS' THE NFL TODAY will be broadcasting on CBS from the Vikings Legacy Ship before the noon slate of games. Folks are encouraged to join the atmosphere, regardless of whether they have game tickets. The same goes for the free Vikings Kickoff Concert featuring Cole Swindell, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. in The Commons.

To the Purple Nation: Breathe.

I had a good idea Harrison Smith would return. But the silence was causing a slight vibration in my foundation.

I was wondering if he wanted to skip camp and all the offseason rigor and save his health for "real" football. I know in the past some players have prolonged the decision to return for that reason. No matter now. He has experience on the field and the ability to influence and educate those around him.

I figure Coach Flores is downright giddy like all of Viking Nation.

Thank you, Hitman! We love you! Now start lighting people up!

— Jason G. in Gallipolis, Ohio

It was admittedly and unquestionably weird to produce the Vikings Yearbook and Playbook editions for Training Camp and the first preseason game without including Smith. He was in his third Vikings season when I started here, so it's become quite routine to see him patrolling the defense and doing un-routine things, adding to his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Smith's knowledge of Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores' system, from the meeting room to his ability to bring it to life on the field should benefit young players who have joined an impressive core of veterans. Maybe he heard how much fun the crew had during those joint practices with Baltimore?

We'll probably hear from Smith in a media session later this week, but I'd imagine he's kept up a strong training plan.

The 53-man roster is now set, so the focus has to be on beating the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 13 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. How will Kyler Murray and the "Minnesota Moving Company" handle the Green Bay Packers defense?

— Brandan Fiedler in Chisholm, Minnesota

And…

Everybody is talking about how good Kyler Murray, our WRs and TEs will be in 2026. That only happens if our OL plays well and stays healthy. I did not see much of anything this past preseason to make me confident, except for maybe a few plays against the Giants. If we can't run the ball on third-and-2, or Kyler is on his back or running for his life against the blitz, it all won't matter. It all comes down to our OL (again) so LETS GO!!! SKOL

— Joe B.

It's hard to say how any season will go, but the Vikings should be able to answer some internal and external questions right out of the gate.

Murray is looking forward to making his first start for Minnesota after playing just nine offensive snaps in this year's preseason opener at the New York Giants. He and the Vikings first-team offense pivoted to Week 1 preparations when training camp finished.

The starting offensive line hasn't appeared in a game together since popping an 18-yard run by Aaron Jones, Sr., on the inaugural snap of the preseason. The group was able to log substantial work in individual and team drills when Minnesota hosted Baltimore for joint practices.

While there are sure to be plenty of eyeballs on Murray, I'm among those highly intrigued in seeing what the revamped run game looks like. I want to learn whether the offensive line is able to play on Green Bay's side of the line of scrimmage on run plays and provide a pocket that will keep Murray from needing to dip into his scrambling ability too often.

Spoiler alert, we'll have a feature on Vikings.com this week about the revamped running game, so be on the lookout for that in addition to other content to get you prepared for the game.

The group expected to play the most on Sunday has a very limited sample size in the public view this year, but I get the feeling the offensive line is eager to harvest the results of its hard work.

I really like former Vikings running back Zavier Scott. He has a great story and he runs hard. I was surprised when he didn't make the team, but now I understand that they planned to add him to the practice squad if he cleared waivers. Unfortunately, the Bears are going to sign him. The team gambled and lost, but that's the way the system works. My question is this; do you think teams, especially division rivals, pick up players like that to pick their brains on what their previous teams offense and defense looks like? I suppose it's legal but, how does a team protect their secrets?

Regards,

— Mike Schuffenhauer, Fan from North Minneapolis since 1969

Scott is a player all Vikings fans can feel good about wishing well as he continues his career, except for any opportunities directly against the Vikings. He runs hard and works even harder, and he daily walks the walk of his faith.

I'm sure Chicago's primary interest in signing him was to add a good, young player to its practice squad, but there could be a situation where the Bears try to learn more about Minnesota's new run game or protection calls or play designs from Scott, which could provide a little help in preparing for Week 2 when Chicago would only have one game film to review when researching this year's approach.

Please describe the various amounts of money that practice squad players make? What kind of latitude do NFL teams have with deals for practice squad players? Might some be guaranteed deals? And how does the game check change when a player is elevated to the active roster?

— Ed Helinski in Auburn, New York

We heard from Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley last week in his first comments since reducing the roster to the 53-man limit and establishing the practice squad, which is capped at 16 (or 17 with one International Player Pathway participant). One thing that was clear in Teasley's comments is his appreciation for the practice squad and his holistic view of the roster as 70 instead of 53. The practice squad continues to evolve and creates opportunities for players to be readily available.

The sizes of practice squads have increased substantially since Teasley launched his career with Seattle in 2013.

Players on practice squads can be poached at any point if another team signs the player to its 53.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle just reported on practice squad salaries last week and noted players with two or fewer accrued seasons receive $13,750 per week, which would total $247,500 if a player was on the practice squad an entire season without being elevated. Practice squad players with more experience can negotiate for a range between $18,350 and 22,850 per week.

According to the NFL Operations Manuel, if a player is elevated for a regular-season game, he receives the "applicable minimum salary for a player with his number of credited seasons (prorated for one week of regular-season pay or the applicable postseason amount). Practice squad players can be elevated three times in one League Year. After that, a subsequent elevation would require placement on the 53-man Active/Inactive list.

"The team must then waive or terminate his player contract before the player can be re-signed to the practice squad. If the player is re-signed to the practice squad this way, the player is again eligible to be elevated for the previously mentioned maximum of three games."

Ownership and the upper end of the team are really impressive, as are many of the position coaches, and both the offensive and defensive coordinators.

The Vikings have finally hit their stride.

It may not happen this year, but if they are able to keep this nucleus in place for two years, they are going to be very hard to beat as they win their first Super Bowl.

It's coming...it's coming...it's coming...

— Bruce Malby

We'll close today with a bit of positivity from Bruce.

There have been intentional decisions backed by sound processes (player evaluations, analytics and reason) in trying to build the best possible team. Every squad will be challenged by something in the course of an NFL season, and some teams appear to have better fortunes than others with regard to injuries or bounces of the football. Time will tell.

View the Vikings 2026 Schedule.

See future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.

See more about the 2028 NFL Draft in Minnesota.