Day 1 Practice ~ July 29 ~ Players/Media

#Vikings TE TJ Hockenson confirms he worked with JJ McCarthy in Nashville this offseason:

“Yeah JJ came down to Nashville, we had a great sesh.”

(Via @Vikings YouTube) https://t.co/Y6Y1CnobN2 pic.twitter.com/KecJErgFQN

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) July 30, 2026

#Vikings QB tracking from day 1 of training camp, per @WillRagatz of @BMTNSports:

Kyler Murray: 10/17 with two drops and 1 interception.

JJ McCarthy: 13/15 with a lot of shorter throws and no real deep balls. pic.twitter.com/E4bUTDDEgv

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) July 29, 2026

Vikings thoughts coming @TheAthletic for context of Day 1. The short of it on the QB competition: Even rep split. Kyler Murray went first, showed the arm talent early, had INT on a deep ball late. J.J. McCarthy a tad inconsistent to start, but some very impressive throws late. pic.twitter.com/Iu7cEdNeaO

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) July 29, 2026

Nolan Teasley.

Brian Flores.

Pretty simple why @Prez chose the #Vikings. pic.twitter.com/nNf7Bb4Roi

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 30, 2026

Linebacker, safety, corner, nose tackle, d-end, kicker.

Want him to walk the dog? @Prez will do that too. pic.twitter.com/V8uGSKnFGX

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) July 30, 2026

Much to discuss on the Day 1 recap. Going live NOW come join

Pres by @FanDuel

Minnesota Vikings training camp camp recap: Day 1 https://t.co/ODD7RLOKOy via @YouTube

— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) July 30, 2026

badgervike wrote:

So...no players on PUP to start the season?

Besides Jonathan Greenard….suckers

Listening to Murray talk to the media, obviously not his first rodeo.

In business we call it the "assumptive close". He is talking like he knows exactly what it is going to take to be QB1. And he is making the assumption that it's going to be him. Not in a cocky way. But in a sure, confident way.

Will that translate onto the field, as a leader of the team?

You tell me.

JustInTime wrote:

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2082576228435820627

"Very active" not a great video to show that activity.

JustInTime wrote:

https://twitter.com/alec_lewis/status/2082635850320396775

What a pleasant surprise that would be.

Sounds like, hopefully, Banks is 100% a go right out of the gate. That would be awesome. My only concern with him might be a non-concern. Is that a word?

Recap from Will Ragatz, used to work at SI.com covering the Vikings. Pretty level headed follow compared to most others, actually reports what he sees without a ton of bias or sensationalism. An actual journalist, not a propped up podcaster or X fanboy. But still a Viking's fan.....huge Twins/Wolves fan as well.

"Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com."

https://bringmethesports.com/vikings-training-camp-recap-day-1-qb-competition-begins-plus-other-notes

And then The Athletic says that JJ did layer passes.....sigh.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7479022/2026/07/30/vikings-kyler-murray-jj-mccarthy-training-camp/

"The practice resembled organized team activities from an execution standpoint, too. Early on, Murray demonstrated the arm talent that made him the No. 1 pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, applying touch to passes in tight windows. Later on, a deep-ball interception zapped some of his momentum. Meanwhile, McCarthy needed a few practice periods to find a rhythm. Once he did, the 2024 first-round pick showed the product of his offseason work, layering passes with finesse.

Nothing over the two-hour session indicated either had a dramatic advantage. The action validated coach Kevin O’Connell’s insistence that the team is holding a legitimate competition, and it also framed his preference to wait for a larger sample size before making the final declaration."

StickierBuns wrote:

And then The Athletic says that JJ did layer passes.....sigh.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7479022/2026/07/30/vikings-kyler-murray-jj-mccarthy-training-camp/
"The practice resembled organized team activities from an execution standpoint, too. Early on, Murray demonstrated the arm talent that made him the No. 1 pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, applying touch to passes in tight windows. Later on, a deep-ball interception zapped some of his momentum. Meanwhile, McCarthy needed a few practice periods to find a rhythm. Once he did, the 2024 first-round pick showed the product of his offseason work, layering passes with finesse.
Nothing over the two-hour session indicated either had a dramatic advantage. The action validated coach Kevin O’Connell’s insistence that the team is holding a legitimate competition, and it also framed his preference to wait for a larger sample size before making the final declaration."

Everyone has their agenda. Much like the media and news. The "news" is vastly different from state to state and what agenda they run. We live in a world where people are run by influence, like sports, it is no different. If you are team Kyler, you will get cherry picked sugar coated takes and will post only as such. People will leave things out if it shows positivity to run the team if it is about JJ.

Funny how things get left out, like layering the ball, if it doesn't fit what you are trying to control. I was fed up a while ago with the Murray and JJ stuff lol. Pick and choose what you listen to, most are just nobodies anyways. I will always be pro JJ and hope the kid does well. I like what JJ said, that everything just clicks now. Much more natural it seems for him and that I am very hopeful for.

Canthony wrote:

Everyone has their agenda. Much like the media and news. The "news" is vastly different from state to state and what agenda they run. We live in a world where people are run by influence, like sports, it is no different. If you are team Kyler, you will get cherry picked sugar coated takes and will post only as such. People will leave things out if it shows positivity to run the team if it is about JJ.
Funny how things get left out, like layering the ball, if it doesn't fit what you are trying to control. I was fed up a while ago with the Murray and JJ stuff lol. Pick and choose what you listen to, most are just nobodies anyways. I will always be pro JJ and hope the kid does well. I like what JJ said, that everything just clicks now. Much more natural it seems for him and that I am very hopeful for.

Its going to be a long 3 weeks or whenever KOC names QB1. I don't follow Judd, but he got in my feed yesterday and said 'JJ won the day' yesterday. That's the kind of stupid stuff we'll be reading daily. The first practice, and a low tempo type practice where I think the QBs threw like 15-17 passes only each and someone has already 'won the day'.

Time to go touch some grass. ✌️

StickierBuns wrote:

Its going to be a long 3 weeks or whenever KOC names QB1. I don't follow Judd, but he got in my feed yesterday and said 'JJ won the day' yesterday. That's the kind of stupid stuff we'll be reading daily. The first practice, and a low tempo type practice where I think the QBs threw like 15-17 passes only each and someone has already 'won the day'.
Time to go touch some grass. ✌️

Right, I had read that JJ won the day as well. I just looked past it. No one will win day one lol. The only thing I see as a real positive is that JJ and his understanding of the offense has clicked for him. He understands it but now hopefully it will all click on the field. We will see. Long way to go.

Cricket wrote:

https://x.com/Vikings/status/2082466180229468643?s=20

Only one correct answer and that was...Superbowl

StickierBuns wrote:

If you want a chuckle, read Thrill's draft profile coming out, lmao...
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/will-reichard/32005245-4903-7913-8590-ea14fc89ba01
https://x.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2082474096437186799

Haha...5.90. The kid is a killer.

To be fair, if he had kicked the ball through the endzone against the Bears, we may have been in the playoffs, so they may have gotten that "weakness" correct.

JustInTime wrote:

https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/status/2082610312826548350

This signing will prove to be huge for the Vikings this year. Adams is a dawg and I'm thrilled he's here.