EAGAN, Minn. — Myles Price was the second-to-last player off the field Tuesday.

The rookie spent 30 minutes after practice putting in extra reps, first using a JUGS machine to field kickoffs and punts and then capping his afternoon with a handful of ball-tracking drills designed to help receivers.

He wiped the sweat from his face, the humidity having reached 73 percent at the height of practice, but a broad grin remained.

"He's a light to be around," QB Max Brosmer had said of Price a few days earlier, following Minnesota's second preseason game. "He's always smiling."

It's true.

Price, who joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana, carries an infectious energy wherever he goes. It's shown up in the team's first two exhibition games, hosting the Texans on Aug. 9 and the Patriots last week.

Price flashed against Houston, scoring the Vikings lone receiving TD on a 3-yard pass from Brosmer. His other catch of the day occurred earlier that same drive, a 15-yard grab from Brosmer on third-and-7.

"It was super exciting, super surreal," Price recently reflected. "Honestly, my first time being at an NFL game was me playing in an NFL game. So that was a surreal moment, running out of the tunnel and seeing all the fans, the smoke.

"I do my pregame routine – I always run to the other side of the field, then say my prayer, talk to God, and then I'm ready to go," he added. "It's been a great, great, great experience."

Price had two catches for 11 yards against the Patriots Saturday, but he also showed what he brings to the table on special teams. With Rondale Moore out for the season after suffering a knee injury in Preseason 1, Price got his shot at a kickoff return … and ran it back 81 yards to the 11-yard line.

"I saw a hole. I stretched, got inside and then broke a tackle, and I seen nothing but the backside. It was just grass. I'm like, 'Run. Just run,' " Price said. "I definitely did think I was going to get in there. As soon as I broke the first tackle, I knew I was gone.

"And then I started running out of gas," added Price, who also returned two punts for 33 yards. "It's because I stopped doing my gassers. I should have kept doing them; I haven't been doing my gassers the past week-and-a-half, and he caught up.

"I mean, I believe I did my job every opportunity I got, but I definitely left some money on the table … and probably won't let that happen again," he said. "Definitely gotta take that one to the crib."

Vikings Special Teams Coach Matt Daniels highlighted Price as a guy who "just loves football" and is someone his teammates enjoy being around.

"He has this contagious energy that you really appreciate." Daniels said Wednesday. "He's always the first one out there, ready for kicks, pre-practice JUGS, punts, then always out here post-practice getting extra work in. He understands and gets it as a young guy, what it really takes to be a professional in this league."

Daniels noted the "daily grind and daily intentionality" Price brings to the table.

"He's just a flat-out football player," Daniels said. "He does a great job tracking and catching it. He's a sneaky tackle-breaker, can stick his foot in the ground and get vertical. I'm excited to see what Myles can do to cap off a really good preseason."

Being a returner takes a certain level of guts. Not only are you attempting to track the ball on its way down and make sure you secure it, but you're doing it all with defenders barreling down at you.

Asked where that fearlessness comes from, Price shrugged and sort of laughed the question off.

"Once I found out I was good at it, I don't know, I just embrace it and love it," he said. "I love it. That's my favorite position in the world. That's backyard football."

Price started his collegiate career at Texas Tech, spending four seasons with the Red Raiders before transferring to Indiana for the 2024 campaign. During his final season with Texas Tech, he returned nine punts for 196 yards; for the Hoosiers last year, he returned 23 punts for 289 yards.

He has yet to score a return touchdown, but he hopes that's still on the horizon.

It's why Price will continue to take every extra rep he can, and he's soaking in any bit of advice and insight from Daniels.

As Price worked on fielding punts following Tuesday's practice session, Daniels sat on the grass nearby and offered bits of observation and feedback.

"Seeing where we can be better, when we should have late hands, making sure we're getting under the ball — all the small details that come with catching punts and kicks," Price explained.

"You never want to give up when you're about to catch a punt, because that lets the other team know where you're gonna be at and when the ball is about to land," he said. "So I'm working on where I'm making the catch, my feet, where I'm positioned, and making sure I have late hands."

Throughout training camp, Price has tried to capitalize on every rep received.

Because there aren't many snaps to go around, and they're often front-loaded toward the first and second units, players like Brosmer and Price have to make sure they're ready to go whenever their number's called.

And even if they aren't the ones taking a play, they stay locked in.

"There's all the small details you probably would learn if you got a lot of reps, but you're getting a bunch of mental reps instead," Price said. "I think the biggest thing when you're in our position, we have to learn how to get mental reps and really be very intentional with those — so when things happen in the game, 'Oh, I remember that happened in practice' and can react."

Building off-field chemistry is crucial during this time, as well.

Price took advantage earlier this summer in joining a handful of other rookies, including Brosmer, on a fishing trip to Northern Minnesota. The group enjoyed being away from a football field for a few days but continued bonding as teammates.

"I absolutely love fishing, but this was my first time fishing up here in Minnesota," Price said. "We caught a bunch of fish: a bunch of walleyes, a few bass. We brought all the walleye back and cleaned it, cooked it."

Added Brosmer: "Those are the little things that help us with connecting on the field, as well."

Heading into the Vikings third and final preseason game against the Titans Friday, Price is planning to build on the foundation he's laid. Whether offensively or as a returner, he wants just one thing: to make a difference.

"I just look at it like, you're getting to play football. You're getting to make an impact," he said. "As long as I can make an impact and be involved with this team, that's all I care about.

"I've always had a 'go get it' mentality," Price added. "I'm ready to help and step up however I can."

View the 2025 Vikings Schedule.

Check out the 2025 International games.

View future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.