EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O’Connell didn't name a starting quarterback as the Minnesota Vikings opened their 19-practice training camp today at TCO Performance Center.
He did, however, establish how Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy will be evaluated, acknowledge that the Vikings have an ideal date for making the decision and promise transparency when they select their Week 1 starter.
O’Connell and first-year General Manager Nolan Teasley spoke extensively about the quarterback competition, Minnesota’s commitment to a more physical training camp, the health of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, the future of Harrison Smith, the signing of linebacker Jamal Adams and the four-year contract extension that keeps right tackle Brian O’Neill with the Vikings through 2030.
O’CONNELL: QUARTERBACK PLAN — Murray and McCarthy will receive opportunities with both of Minnesota’s top offensive units, although O’Connell cautioned against measuring the competition by counting repetitions during individual practices.
“Both Kyler and JJ will take reps with the first team,” O’Connell said. “They’ll also take reps with the second group. And I think that gives different layers to the evaluation as well.”
O’Connell said he met individually with the quarterbacks before camp to explain the plan. His fundamental expectations at the position remain straightforward: Operate the offense, complete passes and demonstrate command of the system.
“We want to be thorough,” O’Connell said. “We want to be comprehensive with this, but at the same time, I think it’s important when we feel good about a decision as a group and we’re ready to move forward, it’ll be good to do that so we can prepare that player for the season, but also give our team and our players clarity of exactly the direction we’re going.”
The competition will not necessarily be divided evenly by day. Murray could receive more work with the first team during one situational period, with McCarthy receiving corresponding opportunities later.
“I told the quarterbacks, we don’t need to make this fifty-fifty,” O’Connell said. “It’s going to be that way to start when we’re on kind of the time crunch. But when we get into some longer practices, there’s some move the ball periods. There’s some periods where the amount of plays is unknown sometimes as you really start to get into what real football is.”
O’Connell said the Vikings will judge the quarterbacks across multiple practices rather than react to isolated results.
“Over the sequence of many days, or as many days as we hope to have before we make a decision, I know we’ll be thorough,” he said. “I know both guys will feel like they’ve got an opportunity to compete, and they both know and everybody on our team knows we’re going to do what’s best to give us the best possible chance to be a really good football team this year.”
DECISION TIMETABLE — O’Connell acknowledged that he has a preferred deadline for choosing a starter but declined to identify it.
“There’s absolutely a date in mind and subject to what we think is best,” O’Connell said. “If we feel like we can make the decision before that date, we will. If we feel like we need a little bit more time, we’ll take it.”
Minnesota’s joint practices with Baltimore will represent an important evaluation point. O’Connell also understands that the eventual starter will need sufficient preparation time before the regular-season opener.
“I think it’s a critical point in camp for sure,” O’Connell said of the Baltimore practices. “It’s our first chance to really, in an exhaustive amount of reps, for that first group to really go against those guys.”
Once the decision is made, O’Connell intends to announce it publicly.
“Transparency’s really important within our building on things like this, but also with you guys as our connection to our fans,” he said. “When the decision’s made, a process will take place and then we’ll move forward and go try to win games.”
MURRAY’S FIT — O’Connell said Murray’s accuracy, mobility and ability to extend plays give Minnesota another dimension, provided the veteran quarterback operates within the structure of the offense and limits negative plays.
“He’s always been an accurate passer, especially when you study him, the rhythm of the game,” O’Connell said. “When he’s in that rhythm and you feel this command of his ability to throw completions and move the team.”
Murray also can create when a play breaks down.
“You don’t have to watch his tape very long to feel that play extension and the ability to not only steal some first downs with his legs, but he can go get a lot more than that,” O’Connell said.
The challenge will be determining when to extend a play and when to accept the original design. O’Connell said Murray has enough talent around him that the quarterback will not have to manufacture offense by himself.
“He’s got a pretty darn good group of players around him in that huddle,” O’Connell said. “And he’s simply doing his job, and the effectiveness of doing that consistently has proven to be a really good thing for guys that have played in the system.”
A MORE PHYSICAL CAMP — O’Connell wants Minnesota to become more physical along both lines of scrimmage without exhausting the roster before the season.
“It’s going to be a physical camp,” O’Connell said. “We want to really build our team a certain kind of way. We have enough experience now since I’ve arrived here. I know with clarity the type of team that we need to build and the improvements we need to make.”
The Vikings will not tackle to the ground every day, and NFL rules prevent them from practicing in full pads until Monday. O’Connell nevertheless wants physicality emphasized whenever conditions allow it.
“We want to build our team and the ability to play the way we want to play along the line of scrimmages,” O’Connell said. “It still comes down to play style and physicality in so many aspects of this game. And we’ve got to find a way to practice it on a daily basis when we can, all with the mindset of knowing we need a fresh team, but a prepared team for the season.”
The running game will receive particular attention.
“We want to run the football,” O’Connell said. “We’ve been really excited about what that has looked like from the time we welcomed our players back in the spring. And then now we get to put the pads on and really see against one of the hardest defenses in the NFL to run the football against on a daily basis.”
DARRISAW CLEARED — O’Connell said Darrisaw enters camp without physical concerns or restrictions after completing a healthy offseason.
“There’s not,” O’Connell said when asked about lingering limitations involving Darrisaw’s knee. “He’s had a healthy offseason and he’s really built up to a place where I know he’s excited to get going.”
The Vikings will continue to manage Darrisaw and other players individually during the demanding camp schedule.
“Training camp can be a grind and we want our players to experience that, but still take an individual approach to how we best prepare those 53-plus guys to be ready to go,” O’Connell said. “We want to be smart about that. But I’m excited to get Christian going and I know he’s excited for this training camp.”
SMITH’S STATUS — The Vikings remain in communication with veteran safety Harrison Smith, who has not committed to returning for another season.
“I spoke to him recently just like I always do and we had a great conversation,” O’Connell said. “Nothing has really changed.”
O’Connell said the Vikings will continue their discussions with Smith and provide an update if his status changes.
ALEXANDER SUSPENDED — O’Connell opened the news conference by addressing the Vikings’ three-week, unpaid suspension of defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator Gerald Alexander. The suspension followed Alexander’s guilty plea to a drunken-driving charge stemming from an April incident.
“Disappointment is the word,” O’Connell said. “The expectations and the standards we have are clear, and it’s important that we do those things for our players and be the examples on and off the field in this organization. And we take that very seriously.”
O’Connell said Alexander accepted responsibility and understood the consequences.
“He knows he fell short of those expectations and he’s taken full responsibility for what happened,” O’Connell said. “He knows he needs to make better decisions moving forward.”
Alexander’s suspension runs through Aug. 13.
O’NEILL EXTENSION — O’Connell praised the decision to extend O’Neill, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and one of the team’s most respected leaders.
“He’s been such a pillar of this organization,” O’Connell said. “From day one when I arrived here, he’s been somebody that he’s poured in everything since I’ve been here and a long time before that.”
The extension was completed Tuesday, one day before the first practice.
“This organization means so much to him, our fans, our ownership,” O’Connell said. “To watch this process play out and the way Nolan and his staff and everybody handled it to come to this outcome on the eve of training camp is just a really, really good thing for our team.”
TEASLEY: NEW WORKING RELATIONSHIP — Teasley enters his first Vikings training camp emphasizing collaboration between the personnel department and O’Connell’s coaching staff.
“Working together with this guy every day, it’s become clear we’re aligned in our vision, both in terms of where we are currently and as we embark on the 2026 season, but also where we’re headed in the future and as we build this thing out,” Teasley said.
That cooperation already has influenced personnel decisions.
“The connection between the coaching staff and personnel is already pretty apparent,” Teasley said. “We’ve seen it come to life with some of the recent acquisitions, the extension of Brian O’Neill.”
O’Connell described Teasley’s staff as one of the best groups he has worked with and said Teasley’s experience has added another valuable perspective to football decisions.
TEASLEY’S QUARTERBACK ROLE — Teasley will be involved in discussions concerning the starting quarterback, although he said O’Connell and the coaching staff must retain the freedom to make the final football decision.
“As we’ve gone through the summer, we’ve actively talked about every decision that we’ve made, big or small, and this will be no different when it’s decision-making time,” Teasley said. “Ultimately, you want to give your coaching staff that freedom to make that choice. But certainly I should have the ability to offer a different vantage point, and we’ll discuss it actively.”
O’NEILL A ‘FOUNDATIONAL PIECE’ — Teasley knew O’Neill’s reputation from his years in Seattle but said working inside the Vikings organization provided a fuller understanding of the veteran tackle’s importance.
“Coming into the building, it’s a privilege to kind of get to know the person, spending some time with him and understanding how well regarded he is within the building,” Teasley said. “Consummate professional, leader, and everybody just holds him in such high regard. It’s a foundational piece, and we’re really, really pleased that we’re able to keep him here for a long time.”
ADAMS ADDED — Teasley previously worked with Adams in Seattle and advocated exploring his fit with defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Adams, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, joined Minnesota as a linebacker after playing safety for most of his NFL career.
Teasley said the evaluation involved more than his familiarity with Adams.
“We first kind of started broaching the subject of Jamal just based on the skill set and my experience with him and the energy and the passion that he brings,” Teasley said. “And then it started getting into the specific skill set of what he does well and then what Flo tasks players or what he can give them the freedom to do within the system.”
Teasley said Adams and Flores were enthusiastic about the possibilities.
“Those things aligned,” he said. “To me, that’s good process and then we’ll see about the result, but I’m really, really positive about that direction.”
ROSTER WORK CONTINUES — Asked whether Minnesota is pursuing another pass rusher, Teasley said the Vikings will continue evaluating every opportunity to improve the roster.
“We’re actively discussing it and pursuing it and then finding ways to improve our roster every day of the week, every day of the month and every day between now and the trade deadline and the end of the season,” Teasley said.
Teasley also expressed confidence in Murray, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NFL draft.
“He was the number one pick for a reason,” Teasley said. “It’s not just about what he can do with his arm. We all know that he can operate on schedule.”
Murray’s improvisational ability particularly interests Teasley.
“Rarely do things go as planned in the National Football League,” he said. “It’s the extension of the play and what he can do in that arena when he can create as well.”
CAMP BEGINS — O’Connell called training camp his favorite portion of the football calendar and said the Vikings understand that preseason optimism must now be converted into daily improvement.
“There’s a wonderful opportunity out in front of all of us and we’ve got to go to work to maximize it every single day,” O’Connell said. “I know I speak on behalf of our players when I say they’re excited about what the potential of our team can be, but that’s what this time of year is for all 32 teams.”
