Finally. Training Camps are open. Today all teams start the road to the Meadowlands. Well, the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts won't have the entire team in camp until tomorrow. The rookies of those teams have been sweating it out since the beginning of the week. Not having the veterans in might be the only peace that the rookies get all camp. Most importantly, the Minnesota Vikings reported to Mankato St. University last night. Yesterday morning, the Vikings woke with their three first round draft picks still unsigned. I hate that it regularly comes down to the last minute but I was confident that none of the drafted rookies would miss a bit of practice. The Vikings front office has been pretty good at getting the draft picks signed. That wasn't the case in 2002. Minnesota had selected Miami tackle Bryant McKinnie with the 7th pick of the 2002 NFL Draft. McKinnie didn't sign his first NFL contract until Halloween was in the air. Holdouts weren't meant to be with the Minnesota Vikings first round bounty this year. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and receiver Cordarrelle Patterson all signed their contracts yesterday morning. They had plenty of time to get to Mankato for head coach Leslie Frazier's motivating talk to open Training Camp 2013.
Earlier this week the Vikings signed an agreement to continue holding their training camps in Mankato through 2015. I'm not sure if their camp plans will change with the opening of the spectacular new stadium in 2016. There's been a move throughout the NFL to hold training camps at team facilities. The Vikings might join that move. I guess that staying in itty-bitty-shitty college dorms is getting old for professional football teams. The Vikings will have been going to Mankato for fifty years when this new agreement comes to an end. I've been wanting to go to Mankato and witness training first hand for years. Sadly, it's never happened and the time to do so is possibly closing soon. They have to hold training camp somewhere. I'll go there.
The NFL really has no offseason anymore. The Super Bowl drifts into the Scouting Combine and that slides into free agency which eases into the draft which gradually becomes OTAs and suddenly training camps are opening. Despite this never-ending cycle, there is a feeling of a new beginning when training camps open. The supposed offseason builds to this starting point. Every team has a chance now. OK, the Oakland Raiders might be a year or two away but everyone else has a chance. Actually, the Raiders do have a shot. It's a long one. The Denver Broncos will be tough to catch in their division but the Raiders could surprise. The Jets too. If nothing else, all 32 teams have hope. That's a good thing. It all starts today. Earlier for some teams. Tomorrow for the full teams of the Bills and the Colts.
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