Do you have a comment or question? Send it to the Vikings.com Mailbag! Every Monday we'll post several comments and/or questions as part of the Vikings.com Monday Morning Mailbag. Although we can't post every comment or question, we will reply to every question submitted.

Click here to submit a comment or question to the Mailbag. Remember to include your name and town in the email. If Twitter is your jam, you can send a question to me that way as well.

We've reached June, and 14 weeks from today, the Vikings will open the 2025 NFL regular season.

Moving under the 100-days-from-kickoff is always a nice mile marker in the offseason.

The Vikings will resume voluntary OTA practices today with a session that will be open to media members and continue with their offseason before participating in a mandatory minicamp next week.

Minnesota closed last week by announcing a contract extension for General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday and celebrating the news that Head Coach Kevin O'Connell was selected as this year's winner of the Horrigan Award from the Pro Football Writers of America. That award is presented annually to a league, club or other official for his or her qualities and professional style in helping the pro football writers do their job.

Last week also included hearing from J.J. McCarthy and seeing him in a team 11-on-11 practice setting for the first time since last preseason and from Andrew Van Ginkel for the first time since he signed a one-year extension. O'Connell discussed a few items last week, including McCarthy's mobility, the status of Will Fries and the goals for "layered learning" during OTAs.

Dozens of players and fans endured a little rain delay but didn't let the moisture dampen the good times at the UNRL Celebrity Softball Game, which was hosted again by C.J. Ham. We'll have a full recap of that this week, but I'd just like to say it was an incredible night of fun fundraising and off-field teambuilding.

Without further ado, let's get to some questions.

Will the Vikings unveil anything new this year with their uniforms? Are the special Winter Warrior uniforms here to stay for a while?

— Steve Tarnowski in Duluth, Minnesota

There are no plans for the Vikings to unveil anything new with their uniforms in 2025, but the NFL and Nike announced during the draft in April that they are introducing a Rivalries program this fall.

The divisions participating in the program this year are the NFC West and AFC East divisions. Those uniforms have not been unveiled yet. After introduction, the Rivalries uniforms are planned to be included in the three subsequent seasons after the first year.

The program will reach the NFC North and AFC South in 2026, the NFC East and AFC West in 2027 and the NFC South and AFC North in 2028.

The Winter Warrior uniforms, which were incredibly well-received upon their introduction last year, and the Vikings Classic are remaining in Minnesota's rotation.

Are the Vikes working on bringing back Stephon Gilmore or Shaq Griffin? Or trying to get some other good veteran corner?

— Tim T.

There are confirmed reports that Gilmore visited the Cowboys headquarters and Griffin has been in discussions with the Seahawks, which would provide a reunion opportunity for each player.

Some sentiment among national media, including before the draft, believed the Vikings still needed to add a cornerback, either during the selection committee or through free agency after not selecting one.

But it seems there might be an underselling of what Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores is projecting Isaiah Rodgers will deliver. Rodgers is coming off helping Philadelphia win Super Bowl LIX. Minnesota also prioritized bringing back Byron Murphy, Jr., for plenty of good reasons and is excited about Mekhi Blackmon's return from a torn ACL suffered at the start of 2024 training camp.

Teams always take a look at potential ways to continue to help their roster and make contingency plans.

Last year, the tragic death of Khyree Jackson in a car crash and Blackmon's injury in July led to the signing of Gilmore in August and Fabian Moreau in late July (Griffin had joined Minnesota in March). Moreau is a free agent, as well.

Another vet with a high draft pedigree, Jeff Okudah, joined Minnesota this spring. He looked crisp with his reps at last week's OTA practice that was open to the media.

Beyond that, Minnesota is looking forward to what Dwight McGlothern might be able to do to build on a great camp as a rookie and will evaluate a couple of others with previous NFL experience, as well as a couple of undrafted rookie free agents.

I'm not saying another veteran won't be added at some point, but I do believe the position perhaps has more to work with than what is perceived.

I don't know why everyone is so worried about the QB. The bigger problem is our coaching. I've enjoyed watching regular season O'Connell, but he can't win a playoff game, and Flo' likes to play prevent defense and lose.

SKOL,

— Sean in Denver

The Vikings have a win percentage of .667 (34-17) in three seasons under O'Connell, the 2024 NFL Coach of the Year (by The Associated Press). That mark ranks sixth behind the Chiefs (.784), Eagles (.765), Bills (.740), Lions (.706) and Ravens (.686) and includes 2023 when Minnesota started four different quarterbacks in a season for the first time in franchise history.

True, O'Connell is 0-2 so far in playoff contests, but I'd be hard-pressed to identify coaches who would have been able to exceed what has been accomplished so far during what most people considered would be a "rebuild" for the Vikings.

Seven teams have not totaled 20 wins in the past three seasons, and only nine teams are 10 or more games above .500 in that stretch.

There might be certain situations under Flores (since 2023) where the Vikings have implemented some prevent concepts, but that wouldn't be the first choice of descriptors I'd use for his scheme and the group's approach.

Oh man, this is sooooo exciting!! I am so happy for the young women and men to show what they got at the Olympics!! This makes me wish I was able to participate. I am way too old, but kudos to the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings for being frontrunners in this great new adventure!!

— Sherrie Schaefer in Grand Forks North Dakota

AND …

I'm feeling a bit uneasy. It's about the Olympics flag football. It's still 3 years away. Much work and details need to be finished, and it's a great idea. What makes me uneasy is what would happen should a player be injured and is unable to play for the team in regular season? The team would lose a valuable player for possibly the whole season. Will there be any compensation to the team from the NFL? Player contracts would need to be re-written to reflect getting selected and about possible injury. I can just hear someone in the booth on game day announcing, "On the field now, Olympic gold medalist Justin 'the Jet' Jefferson." More big helmet photos coming.

SKOL,

— Jerry B. in Ohio

Serving up two different perspectives from fans regarding the recent vote by NFL owners to allow players to participate in the 2028 Olympics when flag football makes its debut.

Sherrie is leaning into the excitement of the announcement, but Jerry is balancing that with the potential risk of injury.

Considerable details pertaining to contracts still need to be figured out between the NFL and NFL Players Association, but we do know that a 10-player team will be fielded by the United States and that the maximum number of participants per NFL team will be capped at one.

USA Football will determine the roster for the American team.

The L.A. Games are scheduled to take place from July 14-30 in 2028, but flag could be at the early part so that participants will not miss training camp.

Our Lindsey Young had a great story last week on the efforts of Brian Asamoah II to help Ghana build its team. He had help from Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Addison when the trio visited West Africa this spring.

A bit closer to home and nearer in the future was last week's announced partnership between the Vikings and the Minnesota Star Tribune to continue the growth of girls high school flag football.

So, the typical national media offseason Vikings disrespect is in full swing. A team that won 14 games last year AND swept the Packers and Bears AND shored up the trenches like no other team is expected to take a step back mostly because, "We don't know how J.J. McCarthy is going to do," is the national media mantra. Do we know how the Lions will handle new coordinators on offense and defense? Apparently, doesn't matter.

Do we know how Ben Johnson will transition from Lions OC to head coach because that move always seems to work out? Do we know how Caleb Williams will perform in Year 2? Do we know whether Jordan Love will be Jekyll or Hyde this year? None of that seems to matter. The other NFC North teams get a national media pass on their question marks. OK. Cool. But if the benefit of those doubts go positively to those teams, I don't understand the negativity for Minnesota based on McCarthy.

If I'm a defense attorney making the case, it's a lock. One of the first arguments against McCarthy is he's a first-year starter, basically a rookie, and traditionally they don't play well, a la Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, et al. Counterpoint in 5 syllables: Ben Roethlisberger. His situation is a much stronger analogy to McCarthy than most first-year starters in that, Big Ben had a team around him ready to win. Peyton and Troy and many other first-round rookie QBs went to bad teams that needed more help than just QB. Ben went 13-0 in his first season precisely because he had a winning team around him. I could add Daunte Culpepper to the conversation. He sat his rookie year and went on to win 11 games in his first year as a starter. Similar situation. He had a team ready to win.

Further, let's not forget the chrysalis effect the Vikings coaching staff had on a QB who was proven but proven as a failure. Sam Darnold was written off as a bust with six years of proof. The national media would have me believe that a six-year bust has more potential than a virtual rookie with no basis for NFL regular season credentials. Seriously? That dog won't hunt. Finally, everything we have seen from J.J. trends in the plus column. He can make all the throws, and I believe he threw the fastest ball at his combine. Some 60+ mph. So the arm strength argument doesn't wash.

Finally, the negative argument that he didn't throw a lot in college counts against him for some reason. Troy Aikman with Dallas rarely ranked in the regular season top QB stats because he handed the ball to Emmitt Smith. But in the playoffs, teams had a better defense against the running game, and Aikman's arm came alive. His playoff passing stats were higher and better. McCarthy didn't have the stats in college because he didn't need to have them. But he has the talent, team and coaching to do what needs to be done in the aerial game in the NFL. He's had one chance to prove it in a preseason game last year, and that was a pure success. I rest my case. Add my name to the law firm partnership.

I'm not saying the media should anoint the Vikings. But to drop a 14-win team to the middle rungs of the NFL ladder on the basis I have laid out is ludicrous and frankly lazy. Yes. Lazy. Evidenced by several media types referring to McCarthy's "ACL tear" as a reason to question his potential. Basic anatomy people. A meniscus is not an ACL. A healthy Vikings team has the potential to win any game on its schedule and compete strongly for a ring. I'm keeping receipts, pundits. Let the national media be wrong about the Vikings. Again.

Skol!

— Jeff K. in Sacramento, California

I understand mistakes can happen when people are trying to keep up with a fast-paced NFL offseason, but it is a little surprising how often McCarthy's torn meniscus from a year ago has been incorrectly reported as a different injury. The Vikings were very forthcoming about the injury, the procedure and the recovery.

It seemed like the people that were down on the Vikings this time a year ago were mostly basing their thoughts on the unknown of Darnold, who wound up thriving and now has a chance to continue that reversed trajectory in Seattle. For what it's worth, after seeing Darnold in the offseason program and training camp, I thought he was going to do better than his doubters expected.

The situation welcoming Roethlisberger into the NFL is one that I'm sure several of his contemporaries envied. He was able to compile the 13-0 mark as a starter in a season when he finished 196-of-295 passing for 2,621 yards with 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of 98.1. Those were respectable but not earth-shattering.

Culpepper went 297-of-474 passing for 3,937 yards with 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions for a passer rating of 98.0.

Those are two very different ways to come out with an almost identical passer rating.

That's a fine point from Jeff about Aikman's regular-season stats being somewhat run-of-the-mill in the regular season, compared to the elevated success he reached in postseason contests.

Bottom line is Roethlisberger and Aikman provided what their teams needed (not saying Culpepper didn't — he led the Vikings to the 2000 NFC Championship Game), and their teams provided strong supporting casts on the way to winning five total Super Bowls.

We've seen the Vikings not let low expectations and projections from external media affect the team's ability to compete.

View the 2025 Vikings Schedule.

See the full 2025 Schedule Release.

Check out the 2025 International games.

View more future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.