Janik Eckardt

5 days ago | purpleptsd.com | Janik Eckardt

The NFC North is filled with intriguing storylines. Chicago enters the season with a brand-new head coach and a quarterback who reportedly wanted to play for the Vikings. The Lions lost both play-callers, and the Vikings swapped quarterbacks. Green Bay doesn’t have that much change, but one more move could happen soon. Star defender Jaire Alexander has been rumored to be on the chopping block all offseason.

5 days ago | purpleptsd.com | Janik Eckardt

In recent history, the tight end duties in the Twin Cities were mostly handled by Kyle Rudolph. Irv Smith was drafted to be his successor, an idea that didn’t work out whatsoever. When Smith went down in the 2022 season, the front office didn’t bother adding a random veteran backup, but invested big-time to acquire T.J. Hockenson. Hockenson is one of the best tight ends in the business, and the latest tight end rankings from PFF confirm that theory.

5 days ago | purpleptsd.com | Janik Eckardt

It’s June, and that’s the part of the year when the players get together for a couple of practice sessions each week, preparing for the upcoming season. The pace will pick up in training camp in July and August and include a joint practice with the Patriots and three preseason games. At this time of the year, Vikings fans usually look at the roster and the free agents and try to match the best available players with the roster holes.

5 days ago | vikingsterritory.com | Janik Eckardt

The Minnesota Vikings were active in this year’s free agency week. Entering the offseason with a ton of cap space allowed the club to be aggressive. Some long-term holes, like the offensive and defensive lines, were fixed by throwing enough money at some significant upgrades. That valuable cap space is now gone, and the franchise has also borrowed from next year’s cap. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be happy about his newest cap relief.

6 days ago | purpleptsd.com | Janik Eckardt

Last year’s training camp was rough for some Vikings. J.J. McCarthy’s debut season ended in August when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Even a few weeks earlier, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, another young and promising player, was lost for the season because of a torn ACL suffered in training camp’s first practice. Over ten months after the incident, the corner is back on the practice field in Vikings gear, getting ready for the upcoming season.