Minnesota Vikings Officially Announce Training Camp Reporting Dates

The NFL and Players Union have yet to come to an agreement for the upcoming season and the league still hasn’t rolled out testing/safety protocols for COVID-19… The hang up seems to be preseason games and whether there will be two or zero.

The show must go on, though, and that is clearly the motto Roger Goodell and NFL owners are living by, as the league moves forward with Training Camps this week. That includes Zigi Wilf and his Minnesota Vikings.

Some players started reporting around the league today and we now know when Vikings players will be showing up at TCO Performance Center.

#Vikings player report dates:

Rookies, QBs and select players – Thursday, July 23
Veterans – Tuesday, July 28 pic.twitter.com/DPy2zPxdDW

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 20, 2020

Updated: owners meeting at 2 ET today. https://t.co/RWNxMlDTeQ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2020

Rookies and QB’s will start reporting on Thursday and the rest of the team will pull into the new-ish practice facilities on Tuesday of next week. Head Athletic Trainer, Eric Sugarman met with the media via Zoom, after the announcement was made.

Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press was nice enough to live-tweet it for us.

Eric Sugarman said the #Vikings will be following NFL protocols but plan to do even more beyond that.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 20, 2020

Eric Sugarman said the #Vikings "will have" some people who get coronavirus because it's unavoidable that nobody will get it and they have to be prepared.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 20, 2020

Eric Sugarman calls it the "new normal" that the #Vikings will have such things as one-way hallways at the team facility. Everyone will wear masks.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 20, 2020

Eric Sugarman said the #Vikings "have to use science as our guide.''

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 20, 2020

#Vikings will break down those at the facility in three tiers according to how essential they are. Excluding players, only 100 others can be at facility in a given day. That's 60 tier one and 40 tier two.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 20, 2020

That means we’ll get to see Kirk Cousins’ smile grace the TCO premises just a day before the Minnesota Twins play their first game vs the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Sports Are Coming Back

Sports are returning and we are finally about to get some of the much needed distraction the world has become desperate for.

Let’s hope the NFL and its players can get on the same page today. It’s time to roll out some league-wide safety protocols so players, coaches and everyone involved can feel comfortable.

Even as players expressed frustration yesterday on Twitter, players have to show up at camp due to a new clause in the CBA. The players could file a grievance for “unsafe workplace” once they get there, though. At the end of the day, money talks just like it does with other jobs. The NFL is going to have a season and the American people are going to get their favorite sport back.

The biggest problem for the National Football League, though… Antonio Brown is quitting again. I can’t wait to see all the Minnesota Vikings Twitter fans call for an AB pickup…

For at least the third time since last September, free-agent WR Antonio Brown announces on Twitter he’s done with the NFL. https://t.co/U6WHSw1vgC

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 20, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan