Vikings Offense

The Minnesota Vikings initial offense for their initial walkthrough of Training Camp 2015 on Sunday looked like this:

WR  Mike Wallace
 TE   Kyle Rudolph
  T    Matt Kalil
  G   Brandon Fusco
  C   John Sullivan
  G    Mike Harris
  T    Phil Loadholt
WR  Jarius Wright
WR  Charles Johnson
QB   Teddy Bridgewater
RB   Adrian Peterson


It sure is great to see Adrian Peterson in the Vikings lineup.

This lineup really doesn't mean much. A lot can change between now and September 14. I'm more inclined to think that the Vikings trot out a "12" personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends) for their Monday night date with the San Francisco 49ers. Back to the present. It sure is great to see Peterson in that lineup. So great. Mike Harris at right guard might be the biggest surprise. At least it was for me. Head coach Mike Zimmer said after the walk-through that they were going to start out with the veteran Harris over the younger players at right guard. He also said that rookie T.J. Clemmings will work at tackle rather than take part in the competition at right guard. This was a further surprise to me as I, naively, had Clemmings penciled in as the starting right guard. It looks like the competition for the position will include Harris, fellow veteran Joe Berger, rookie Tyrus Thompson, and second-year David Yankey. This is one of the biggest and most populated position competitions of camp.

Apparently, Peterson had to be reminded that this first practice was only a walkthrough. Typical Peterson. It sure is great to see him in the lineup. And on the field. So great.

The Vikings made some injury-related moves before taking the field.

Reserved/Injured
Linebacker Casey Matthews

Physically Unable to Perform (PUP)
Cornerback Josh Robinson

Active/Non-football injury
Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen
Receiver DaVaris Daniels

The most serious of the above moves is Matthews. He's down for the season. Robinson suffered a pectoral injury during offseason workouts. His return is up in the air. He could miss all of training camp and even some of the season. Or he could be back in a week. That would be very optimistic. Stephen should be back in a couple of days. Zimmer mentioned that one player didn't pass the conditioning test necessary to get on the field. The guess here is that player was Daniels. It's beyond ridiculous for a young player with NFL dreams to not show up for camp in condition to go.

The best news of the day, other than the start of camp, was the signing of kicker Blair Walsh to a contract extension. The Vikings have found remarkable contributions in recent drafts. The 2012 draft was the first of those "keeper" drafts with eight of ten selections still on the team. Walsh is the first of that class to sign an extension. The contract: 4 years, $14 million, with 5.25 guaranteed. He's now among the best paid kickers in the game.

It's great to see Vikings football. It's great to see Adrian Peterson on a football field again.