Kevin O’Connell’s team is coming off a 14-win season. Sam Darnold is gone and the defensive front has plenty of new faces. There are still some pillars across the 53-man roster, and that’s where the captains come in.

Eight captains named for MN Vikings

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has proven to be among the best leaders across the entirety of the NFL. He has to do so from the sidelines however. The extension of his voice on the field comes in the form of hand-picked captains. This season their are eight of them.

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell has announced the 2025 #Vikings team captains

QB J.J. McCarthy
WR Justin Jefferson
S Harrison Smith
RB Aaron Jones Sr.
LS Andrew DePaola
S Josh Metellus
OLB Jonathan Greenard
T Brian O'Neill pic.twitter.com/T6zylOALFc

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 28, 2025

When quarterback J.J. McCarthy takes the field for his first NFL start, he will do so wearing a “C” on his chest. The young signal caller is being empowered by his coach, and from there it’s up to him.

Plenty of veterans will rock the “C” patch as well. Justin Jefferson continues to be the focal point of Minnesota’s offense. Aaron Jones is back again to bolster the backfield. Brian O’Neill has been a constant force on the frontline.

Related: Minnesota Vikings 2025 Final 53-Man Roster

This offseason Josh Metellus was given a nice new contract extension. He is among the defensive captains and certainly doesn’t take the opportunity for granted.

Harrison Smith is entering is entering his 14th NFL season. It’s crazy to think how long he has continued to compete at such a high level. He’ll be working to help break in new starter Theo Jackson this season as well.

Minnesota is primed to make noise in the NFC North, and if J.J. McCarthy is the real deal, there’s no reason to put a cap on how high they can go.

But football games are played on the field, and on Thursday morning, the NFL announced the 2025 Pro Bowl rosters, and the Vikings had six players make the prestigious list, five were named starters. Quarterback Sam Darnold is the only one who is not a starter.

It’s the longest list of Vikings Pro Bowl selections since 2009. Justin Jefferson makes the NFC roster yet again, something he has accomplished every season of his NFL career. Andrew DePaola is also becoming a regular. On the other hand, most guys will make their first ever appearance, including Sam Darnold.

1. Sam Darnold (QB)*
2. Justin Jefferson (WR)****
3. Byron Murphy Jr (CB)*
4. Andrew Van Ginkel (EDGE)*
5. Jonathan Greenard (EDGE)*
6. Andrew DePaola (LS)***

Of course, the Pro Bowl is not a game anymore. It is now a series of mini-games between the NFC and AFC. Each team receives points for winning each competition. The team with the most points at the end of the day wins.

The “2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games” will be held in Orlando, FL, one week before the Super Bowl (Feb. 2). If the Minnesota Vikings were to play in the Super Bowl, their Pro Bowlers would not attend the Pro Bowl games.

Vikings Pro Bowl alternates

Each team also gets alternate selections, for when the NFL inevitably has to replace Pro Bowlers who can’t make it to Orlando for Super Bowl or personal reasons. There were seven Minnesota Vikings tapped as 2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games” alternates.

• 1st alternate: CJ Ham (FB)
• 3rd alternate: Garrett Bradbury (C)
• 3rd alternate: Josh Metellus (S)
• 4th alternate: TJ Hockenson (TE)
• 4th alternate: Brian O’Neill (RT)
• 4th alternate: Trent Sherfield (ST)
• 6th alternate: Harrison Phillips (DL)

The Minnesota Vikings are also set to welcome back a crucial player tomorrow, rookie standout kicker Will Reichard, who’s been sidelined for the past month on injured reserve.

Minnesota Vikings K Will Reichard and LS Andrew DePaola activated

The Minnesota Vikings announced today that Will Reichard and Andrew DePaola will be back tomorrow. Resuming their full-time roles as kicker and long snapper.

The #Vikings have activated LS Andrew DePaola and K Will Reichard from IR.

K Parker Romo has been waived and OLB Gabriel Murphy has been elevated to the active roster for tomorrow's game.https://t.co/tzYiHkh5qM pic.twitter.com/cC3v8o0SMv

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 7, 2024

Along with this update, the team announced they’ve waived kicker John Parker Romo. Romo, who impressed by going 11-for-12 on field goals and 7-for-8 on extra points over four games. The bright side for Romo, he’s definitely got a future in the NFL.

Romo has definitely made an impact over the last four weeks, playing a key role in the Vikings’ winning streak and showing the NFL he deserves a spot on a roster. The issue? The Vikings already have a stud kicker in Will Reichard. So far this season, Reichard has nailed 14 of 16 field goals and is a perfect 23 for 23 on extra points.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Have Been Trying to Extend Byron Murphy Jr

It’s going to be awesome seeing Reichard back in action tomorrow. It’ll also be very interesting to see where Parker Romo lands.

Minnesota Vikings cut veterans Myles Gaskin and Jake McQuaide

Instead, all we saw from the Vikings this afternoon was movement on the practice squad. After the signing of Daniel Jones, and what appears to be the imminent activation of 37-year-old Pro Bowl long-snapper Andrew DePaola, Minnesota released veteran running back Myles Gaskin and waived replacement long snapper Jake McQuaide from the team’s practice squad.

The #Vikings have waived LS Jake McQuaide and released RB Myles Gaskin from the practice squad.

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 3, 2024

Myles Gaskin as active for five Minnesota Vikings games this season, but only saw the field for six total snaps on offense. In those very limited snaps, the 27-year old former 7th round pick got just three carries (-1 yard rushing). He also caught one pass for 11 yards.

Related: Where Will John Parker Romo Land When He is Kicked to the Curb by Vikings?

Most of Gaskin’s time on the field in purple came on special teams, where he totaled 85 snaps, mixed between both punt and field goal coverage/return. The longtime Miami Dolphin, who was drafted out of Washington in 2019 did not record a tackle, according to PFF, where he carried a 59.8 special teams grade.

Andrew DePaola likely to be active vs Atlanta Falcons

Jake McQuaide ‘waives’ goodbye, after four games with the Minnesota Vikings. The 12-year NFL veteran snappped the ball 33 times, and never stood out for causing a special teams mess. His 48.8 PFF grade, however, was his lowest since 2015. With McQuaide’s release, the assumption is that Andrew DePaola will be active on Sunday vs the Atlanta Falcons.

Minnesota Vikings sign long snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Andrew DePaola

But that wasn’t the only move. Long snapper Andrew DePaola was also injured in week 9, and he too was placed on IR today. To replace their All-Pro long snapper, the Vikings are signing a guy who has gotten around the NFC North recently, Jake McQuaide.

#Vikings had to change two-thirds of their kicking operation this week due to injury. Former #Lions and #Bears long snapper Jake McQuaide is expected to continue his tour of the NFC North by signing with Minnesota. https://t.co/NRsQnB4Q9F

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 5, 2024

McQuaide spent last season in Detroit, and the two years prior in Dallas, before temporarily making an appearance for Chicago this summer. Most of his career (10 seasons) were spent in the Rams organization, both before and after their move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Sign Familiar Kicker to Replace Will Reichard

No 36 years old, it’s unlikely Jake McQuaide is the long snapper he once was, while being selected to two straight Pro Bowls between 2016 and 2017, when he was in his prime. Luckily, all he has to do is successfully get the football to a holder or punter successfully, so age shouldn’t matter all that much.

Notably, however, players like (EDGE) Danielle Hunter and (TE) TJ Hockenson were surprising snubs.

Just announced: The 2023 AP First and Second All-Pro Team: pic.twitter.com/Lwsxo3CoOf

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 12, 2024

Danielle Hunter Snubbed in AP All-Pro Selections

Coming off the best season of his career, Danielle Hunter found out today he wasn’t selected to an All-Pro team, this comes as a major disappointment and shocker to most people. Hunter was 5th in the league in sacks this season, with 16.5, the most of his career.

Related: 2024 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Roundup

Players like Myles Garett, TJ Watt, Micah Parsons and Max Crosby were all selected over Hunter. Hunter, who played in all 17 games this season, will be a free agent in the offseason and will be one of GM Kwesi Adofo Mensah’s main priorities; right up there with Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson.

Danielle Hunter's strip sack. pic.twitter.com/O8UL3rRCOb

— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) October 31, 2023

Last offseason, the Vikings chose to keep Hunter on a one year deal worth up to $20 Million. He has said that staying with Minnesota is the goal, calling it “an organization that I love”. Can the front office and Danielle’s camp find a middle ground this offseason? We’ll find that out soon enough.

TJ Hockenson Snubbed too

TJ Hockenson played a huge role in the Vikings offense all season, he played in 15 games before he was injured late vs the Detroit Lions on December 24th. His 95 catches ranked 2nd among tight ends, his 960 yards 4th and his 5 touchdowns tied for 3rd.

Missing the last two games was (apparently) crucial, given he would have had a real shot at being the league leader in many of these categories. George Kittle nabbed the 1st Team selection, with 1,020 yards and 6 touchdowns, on 65 receptions. Rookie, Sam Laporta was named to the second team.

I haven't seen enough TJ Hockenson apologies yet pic.twitter.com/OuXuZPGkgc

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) November 6, 2023

Related: How Much is Justin Jefferson Going to Cost and Will New Contract Handcuff Vikings?

Hockenson suffered injuries to both his ACL, and MCL and could force him to miss the beginning of the 2024 season. He signed a 4 year extension with the Vikings last season and will be key piece to this Vikings offense going forward.

Long Snapper Andrew DePaola Named To 2nd Team

Andrew DePaola stands as the sole Vikings player chosen for an AP All-Pro team this season. Impressively, this marks his second consecutive selection to the All-Pro team. In the previous season, he earned a spot on the first team, along with a Pro Bowl selection.

Following his outstanding performance last season, he secured a three-year extension with the Vikings during the last offseason. This season, DePaola receives recognition with a nod to the second team, positioning him as a probable contender for this year’s Pro Bowl once again.