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The first week of 2026 Vikings Training Camp is in the books, and what a chock-full week it was.

Last week opened with announcements of themes for home games this season at U.S. Bank Stadium, which include the new Rivalries uniforms making their debut on Dec. 20 when Minnesota hosts Detroit, the Vikings Ring of Honor Induction Ceremony for Adrian Peterson when the Bills visit on Nov. 9, wearing the Vikings Classic uniforms against Green Bay on Sept. 13 and donning the Winter Warrior look when Washington comes to town in Week 16 (date to be determined).

There were signings of a contract extension for Brian O’Neill and the additions of linebacker Jamal Adams and running back Jordan Mims, to go along with ramping-up practices.

Friday launched Legends Weekend with a bus trip to Mankato and a warm welcome from Wally Boyer and Co. at Jake's Stadium Pizza (we captured some content we're looking forward to releasing soon). Vikings Legends enjoyed reconnecting Friday evening at LaunchPad Golf The Meadows and visiting Saturday's practice at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

Saturday marked the 25^th *anniversary* of the tragic death of right tackle Korey Stringer, who suffered heat stroke during a camp practice. Korey's wife Kelci and their son Kodie returned to Minnesota for the weekend, along with representatives from the Korey Stringer Institute, which advances the importance of hydration and sport safety.

Vikings radio analyst and former linebacker Pete Bercich, who teamed with Stringer, hosted a discussion with Kelci on the plaza at TCO Stadium, and a tribute video played inside the venue.

Kelci shared how Korey's sense of humor helped win her affection when both attended Ohio State and her appreciation for the support of Vikings Legends in attendance. The light that Korey brought through laughter helped guide Kelci to turn their family's woe into a way to help prevent future tragedies.

"I just wanted to have something that was going to outlive the legacy of Korey, to have our athletes protected because … no one needs to die doing something that they love," Kelci said. "Our young athletes, our children, they do not need to be at-risk for doing something that they love. And the [Korey Stringer] Institute provides that type of information and that type of work that allows our young athletes to stay alive.

"It's beyond sports, right? It's health and safety. We operate with war fighters in the military. We operate with laborers. … They need to understand hydration. It's so many things that the Korey Stringer Institute does that span beyond sports."

Twenty-five years since his passing at age 27, "Big K" is still making a big difference.

Turning to this week, the team has practices scheduled for today, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday before holding the Night Practice Sunday. Vikings.com/camp is a great starting point if folks are interested in attending a session or more.

I know that there is concern for depth at the DE (OLB) position, and with the Vikings fairly silent on that front, can fans and media rest knowing the position has some newcomers ready to step in? If so, who might gain some rotational minutes at the edge position or step in if Andrew Van Ginkel or Dallas Turner goes down?

— Mike in Spearfish, South Dakota

First off, a team always hopes for as much availability of important players at key positions as possible. Van Ginkel and Turner each have unique roles within the Vikings defense, so versatility in reserves could be a prized trait. Van Ginkel's ability to deceive, drop into coverage, slam shut passing lines and produce highly memorable splash plays without sacrificing reliability is truly special.

Turner's astronomical athletic traits factored into Minnesota's investment in picking him so high and parting with draft capital for the right to do so. It is clearly his time to shine after Minnesota dealt Jonathan Greenard to Philadelphia during the draft.

Behind Van Ginkel and Turner, the Vikings have returned Bo Richter, Tyler Batty and Chaz Chambliss. They also brought in undrafted rookies Cam'Ron Stewart and Arden Walker. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 271 pounds, Batty has the largest frame among the reserves and is a different body type than the others in the group.

Some have expressed the opinion they believe the Vikings will add a veteran since Richter's 81 defensive snaps in regular-season games outpace 25 by Chambliss and 42 by Batty.

One thing we do know is that Flores can create pressure from multiple spots on the field and is not bashful when it comes to blitzing. That's one of the reasons the addition of Adams is intriguing. Adams played linebacker for Las Vegas last season as part of his "rebuild." As a safety with the Jets (2017-19) and Seahawks (2020-23), Adams racked up 21.5 sacks in his first four NFL seasons.

Don't forget that Eric Wilson recorded a career-best 6.5 sacks in 2025, his first in Flores' system.

Also don't be surprised to see Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins kick out for reps on the edge. Ingram-Dawkins played defensive line in 2025 as a rookie. He's returned to camp more svelte, which should help with that task.

In addition to possibly being a matchup problem on special teams, rookie Jake Golday is a candidate for being the understudy of Van Ginkel because the second-round pick played from multiple spots in college and has good size and speed. He dived into the playbook the moment he got here and hasn't looked like he's "swimming" (a bad thing on a football field) during reps.

Golday made a nice, alert play Saturday when he tapped a pass from J.J. McCarthy into the air and into the hands of Blake Cashman.

Pads are going on today for the first time of camp, so we'll start to get more pass rush reps, which is also good with Ivan Pace, Jr. — another who has yielded some success on blitzes.

"I'm ready for pads," he said Saturday. "When the pads go on, you really get to see a true football player. In 7-on-7 and walk-through, you really can't see. Once you put the pads on, football is where it's at."

I was wondering how close Chuck Foreman was to getting a Hall of Fame jacket? My gosh, he deserves it! Just watched highlights of his career, and he was amazing to watch. He could catch, and he ran like a madman through defenses. I know it's been 49 years since the Vikings were in a Super Bowl, but has that diminished his overall performance?

Thanks,

— Rick H.

A well-timed question as we head into Hall of Fame Week, which will include the Hall of Fame Game Thursday to open the NFL's preseason, as well as the Saturday enshrinements of Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Jr., Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri.

Foreman has been close enough to make it through rounds of cuts by the Hall of Fame's Senior Committee, but he and Jim Marshall were both excluded from the list of nine semifinalists. Craig, who suited up for the Vikings in his final two seasons (1992-93) was elected from a second pool of five Finalists chosen by the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee and Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee.

Craig made four Pro Bowls and totaled 8,189 yards and 56 touchdowns. He added 4,911 receiving yards and 17 scores through the air during his 11 seasons with the 49ers, Raiders and Vikings.

Foreman's accomplishments a decade before Craig's first season in 1983 included winning 1973 Offensive Rookie of the Year and beginning a run of five consecutive Pro Bowls.

He set a record (since topped) for the most receptions in a campaign by a running back with 73 in 1975, which happened to be his second consecutive season finishing in the Top 5 on the Most Valuable Player ballot.

Unfortunately for Foreman, who played in three Super Bowls, the Vikings were unable to hoist the Lombardi at least once. The other factor that has probably worked against Foreman is after six consecutive seasons with 1,100+ scrimmage yards, he was impacted by injury and totaled 370 in 1979 and 162 for New England in 1980.

Fitzgerald, the former Vikings ball-boy, returned to Minnesota for the summer and visited training camp last week along with Cris Carter. Current players, including some who overlapped with Fitzgerald's legendary time in the NFL, enthusiastically jogged over to welcome the 11-time Pro Bowler and congratulate him on joining Carter in Canton.

Fitzgerald finished with 17,492 receiving yards, all with the Cardinals from 2004-20, which ranks second all-time behind Jerry Rice's whopping 22,895.

Recent retiree Adam Thielen and still-going-star Justin Jefferson have totaled 16,977 yards. Thielen is 17 yards ahead of Jefferson on the NFL's all-time list as the latter heads into his seventh NFL season. If Jefferson records a seventh consecutive season with at least 1,000 yards, he'll vault 30-plus spots.

Skol to y'all who bleed Purple!

Glad to see Brian O'Neill secured for a few more years. He and Christian Darrisaw are a great tandem on the ends. Especially glad to read of his enthusiasm to remain in Minnesota. I'm enthused about it, too.

Jamal Adams. If he can regain a portion of the ability, versatility and confidence as before his injury, he can be a true asset. Having him as a hybrid opens up a lot of options. If anyone can utilize him to the fullest, B-Flo' can do it.

Ed White. Hated to see him go to the Chargers. I believe he was the strongest man in the NFL literally. I think he broke his leg during the Pro Bowl (way back when they actually played football). During his downtime while he was recovering, he took up bronze sculpting.

Another tidbit. I believe in the first ever NFC-AFC Pro Bowl the first player to score a touchdown was Vikings RB Dave Osborn. He caught a scoring pass from 49ers QB John Brodie. The NFC won 27-6 with Cowboy Mel Renfro who returned 2 punts for scores.

Shout out to Nighthawk.

— Jason G. in Gallipolis, Ohio

The O'Neill extension, which runs through 2030, along with Darrisaw's deal (through 2029) locked up the bookend spots for the rest of the decade.

Both players have the chance to be incredibly instrumental in the success of an offense that features some elite, established players at skill positions, as well as a couple of intriguing newcomers.

Having O'Neill and Darrisaw enables the tight ends to do much more from an attacking standpoint than being leaned on heavily to help with pass protection. I've previously mentioned wanting to see what it looks like when Darrisaw and Donovan Jackson get to run block on the left side, but I also think the right side of O'Neill and Will Fries, who recovered from a 2024 broken leg last year, could be a great paving combination, as well.

Adams had been here just days before stepping in for some reps with the first-team defense. He mentioned Flores and new General Manager Nolan Teasley, who overlapped with Adams in Seattle, as huge motivators in his decision to sign a non-guaranteed contract with Minnesota.

While there hasn't been an official declaration of NFL's strongest, White is a good candidate. He once wrestled a bear at the state fair — courageously handling the surprising challenge for what had been set up by former Vikings management for a $50 appearance fee (there had been no mention of the bear to White before arriving at the fairgrounds).

Another great example of White's strength occurred in 1975 when CBS aired arm wrestling contests between NFL players during halftimes of games. White blazed through the competition, defeating Patriots defensive lineman Julius Adams in the championship.

Memory serves correctly. Osborn and former Vikings kicker Fred Cox (with Fran Tarkenton holding) put the NFC up 10-3 in the second quarter (after a scoreless first). Cox made two field goals and three extra points.

Osborn led all players with 45 yards on 10 rushes and with 58 receiving yards in addition to scoring the only offensive touchdown. Not too shabby for a 13^th-round pick in the 1965 NFL Draft.

Do you feel like we have a roster that can win the Super Bowl?

— William W.

The Vikings have definitely put forth multiple attempts to try to return to the Super Bowl over the past 50 years and to finally claim the trophy in the franchise's fifth appearance.

That includes hiring O'Connell after he helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI and hiring Teasley fresh off Seattle winning LX. Teasley also was an intern with the Seahawks when the franchise won XLVIII.

In talks, he's noted his understanding of how many things have to work out for a franchise to win a Super Bowl increased from his internship to his recent position as Seahawks Assistant General Manager.

When Teasley was introduced, he was asked his opinion of the roster.

"It's a strong nucleus of talent on both sides of the ball," Teasley said. "They've won a lot of football games here in the last four years, including five in a row to end last season, and I look forward to being a part of that and building toward more opportunity and more wins in the future.

"We're going to build the deepest, most competitive roster possible so that we can be at our best in December, in January and February and ultimately work toward winning the Super Bowl that this fan base deserves," Teasley added.

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See more about the 2028 NFL Draft in Minnesota.