The Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans practiced against each other for the second straight day at TCO Performance Center. The workout was physical, competitive and occasionally testy. Here’s the main takeaways from the day…
1. Who was practicing
The Vikings were without Jalen Nailor, Kene Nwangwu, Brian Asamoah and Jordan Addison. Rookie Jaquelin Roy did some work but did not participate in 11-on-11s. Same with TJ Hockenson.
2. Mekhi Blackmon leaves practice with injury
When the Vikings and Titans were doing 7-on-7 goal line drills, Blackmon appeared to suffer an upper body injury. He was holding his shoulder area and was in obvious pain as he walked to the training area. The rookie CB did not return to practice and Brian Flores said that he hadn’t heard an update on his status. Joejuan Williams took over the first-team reps for the rest of the day.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Blackmon “avoided major injury” but it’s still unclear whether that means a quick return or some time away from practice.
3. Trishton Jackson mixes in with 1s
With Addison out on Day 1 we saw Brandon Powell and Jalen Reagor with the first team and a sprinkle of Trishton Jackson. On Day 2 Jackson did far more work with the 1s, though his best moment came at the end of the day with the second team. He broke open for a touchdown catch during the final drive situational drill, solidifying a very good week for him.
Earlier in camp Jackson suffered an injury that looked like it could end his run of good play in practice but the injury turned out not to be serious and he returned a few days later. There was some symbolism for him in the close call.
“It was a second life,” Jackson said. “I kept praying through the whole process…now my approach is going out there and giving it my all every day.”
Jackson said that the training staff has asked how he’s been feeling after getting banged up but it hasn’t held him back.
“I’m not 100% but I’ll be there by Saturday,” he said.
As the battle rages on for receiver spots, Jackson has an opportunity in his first preseason game to add to his case for a position on the 53-man roster.
4. Marcus Davenport got a lot of work inside rushing
During the joint practices with the Titans defensive coordinator Brian Flores used a personnel package with DJ Wonnum, Danielle Hunter and Marcus Davenport on the field at the same time. Wonnum and Hunter played outside and Davenport lined up inside alongside Harrison Phillips. While Davenport said that he’s lined up inside in the past, it did not happen very often per PFF with just a handful of interior snaps over the last three years. It appears to be one of Flores’s role tweaks in attempt to find what his players do best.
“He’s a smart player, first and foremost,” Flores said. “I think he understands the game, the fronts, pass protections, run blocking schemes and he’s a very physical player. He uses his hands well, has length…I think he’s flexible enough to move spots and that allows us to put some other guys in different spots. I’ve been very pleased with him.”
That particular group caused a ton of pressure on Ryan Tannehill on Thursday. No surprise, Hunter was at the center of it but Wonnum also clearly won some reps and got after the quarterback as well.
5. Kicking competition is no more
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said earlier in the week that rookie Jack Podlesny would get a chance to kick on Saturday. Well, that isn’t happening because the Vikings cut Podlesny on Wednesday to sign running back Aaron Dykes. The Richmond back ran for 777 yards in 2022 and returned three kicks for touchdown over his career.
Unless the Vikings have another kicker in mind or they want to wait until other kickers get cut around the league it appears that it’s Greg Joseph’s show. He made all of his kicks against Seattle and has had an overall solid camp when kicking in full team drills. Last year he went 26 for 33 on field goals and missed six extra points.
6. Kirk Cousins said he won’t play on Saturday, talked about the benefits and drawbacks of facing Flores’s defense
After two days of very hard practices it was almost a lock that starters were not going to see any time in the preseason game on Saturday night but Cousins confirmed as much at the podium on Thursday.
Before facing someone other than his own defense for the second straight day, Cousins went into detail about the back and forth of going against Flores’s heavy-blitz defense. He talked about “tense conversations” about how much the offense should try to solve Flores’s problems or try to execute their core plays regardless of the defensive scheme.
“We’ve kind of had to live in that world of we’re going to call the plays that we’re going to need for the season that are going to make life very difficult against his scheme and we just have to do out best to find the answers that are there even if it’s a tough answer, and so that’s the world we’re living in and it makes us better in the long run,” Cousins said, adding that eventually they will see looks that they haven’t scouted and may have a better menu of answers before of Flores’s defense.
Against the Titans, it seemed that pressure caused more problems on Thursday than it did Wednesday but Cousins was at his best in the two-minute drill. He delivered two passes to KJ Osborn and then found Justin Jefferson across the middle to set up first-and-goal. A quick pass to Osborn put the Vikings in the end zone to end the joint practices in style.
7. Jalen Reagor worked with the 1s in situational
If we judge solely by the practice reps, the depth chart at receiver would seem to be: Jefferson, Osborn, Addison, (Nailor?), Reagor, Jackson, Powell. In the two-minute drill, which coaches badly want to win, Reagor got the WR3 nod with Addison out. While he didn’t make a catch on the drive, it might be a sign that he’s ahead of Powell in the competition for the depth WR slash punt returner spot. He played well against Seattle last week and has an opportunity to build on that performance on Saturday.
8. A Titans player got ejected
The Titans’ defensive tackles were problematic for the Vikings’ O-line, as you would expect because they have a top-notch defensive line. But they were also the loudest and most feisty during practices. DT Teair Tart took a relatively weak hack at center Garrett Bradbury and was immediately led to the locker room by a Titans coach. Kevin O’Connell and Mike Vrabel made it clear from the outset that there would be no tolerance for fighting. That was the only time that things crossed the line.
9. Andrew Booth Jr. picked off Malik Willis and then stoked the fire
However, Andrew Booth Jr. nearly incited a riot at the end of practice. In the two-minute drill, Titans backup Malik Willis winged a pass into the end zone and Booth Jr. grabbed it for an interception. It was the type of play he needed coming off a tough game against Seattle last week. But he then stood up and hucked the ball at the Titans sideline in celebration, bringing both teams off their sidelines and onto the field. With tensions rising, O’Connell and Vrabel came together and briefly stopped the events until they got everyone back to the sidelines without incident.
Booth Jr. got flagged and acknowledged after practice that it wasn’t the right move. After a day in which Joejuan Williams stepped into Mekhi Blackmon’s role and not the 2022 second-round pick, he probably should have avoided doing something that could have caused problems between the two teams. Booth Jr. will be looking for a bounce-back game on Saturday night and presumably the Titans will be looking to cook him. That will be worth watching.
10. A player who visited the Vikings signed elsewhere
Last week veteran cornerback Ron Darby visited the Vikings but left without a contract. On Thursday he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. The market is running out of cornerbacks but it will be interesting to see if the Vikings dip into free agency after seeing the corners battle against another team.
