Kevin O’Connell sports Jared Allen shirt at Vikings training camp
Kevin O'Connell wears Jared Allen shirt to Vikings camp practice
The Minnesota Vikings are back at training camp practice Friday afternoon at TCO Performance Center, and Kevin O'Connell came to the podium wearing a Jared Allen shirt while he spoke to reporters. Allen is being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings are continuing training camp practice at TCO Performance Center after having Thursday off.
Kevin O’Connell spoke with reporters before Friday’s practice in Eagan, and walked up to the podium sporting a Jared Allen shirt. It’s a big weekend for Allen, who is getting the coveted gold jacket as he is inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Justin Jefferson, Vikings training camp latest
FOX 9?s Pierre Noujaim joins the All Day crew from TCO Performance Center to update fans on the latest Minnesota Vikings training camp news, including the status of Justin Jefferson?s injury and J.J. McCarthy?s progression ahead of today?s practice.
Jared Allen to Hall of Fame
What they're saying:
"My guy Jared Allen, we’re so proud of him and what this weekend means for him. I speak for all our fans and every member of our organization just saying congratulations to him, how proud we are of him and being a part of our great history," O’Connell said. "It’s a big deal."
Allen took part in festivities Thursday night at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. He’ll be officially enshrined at a ceremony on Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. He’s going in along with Eric Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe. The four-member 2025 class is the smallest since 2005.
The Vikings acquired Allen in a 2008 trade. He got 85.5 of his 136 career sacks with Minnesota. That includes 22 in 2011, one of three years he was First-Team All-Pro with the Vikings.
No timeline for Christian Darrisaw
What we know:
The Vikings will practice in full pads on Friday in a stretch that features three out of four days in pads. Earlier this week, Christian Darrisaw got his first work in team situations at camp with pads on. Darrisaw suffered a ton ACL last season at the L.A. Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. He’s one of the top tackles in the NFL.
Both Darrisaw and Will Fries, coming off a fractured tibia, were in for snaps at the same time. O’Connell didn’t give a public timetable for Darrisaw’s return, but said there is an internal plan.
"I’ve been real careful in my dialogue with him about what’s out there, we all know what’s coming. He has done everything in his power to make that happen. What I don’t want is for there to be disappointment or feel like something wasn’t done if that doesn’t happen.," O’Connell said. "Internally we have some ideas of what that timeline will look like.
KOC wants offense to step it up
Dig deeper:
It’s been a week of the Vikings’ defense out-performing the offense at training camp. That’s not unusual early on in workouts, but O’Connell said Friday he’d like to see the offense step it up a notch.
Earlier this week, the defense got multiple sacks on quarterbacks. On Wednesday, every quarterback threw an interception, and the defense celebrated every big play. O’Connell had a message for his offense if they took exception.
"The celebrations and all those things, if the offense doesn’t like that, there’s one way to not allow it to happen, that’s a pretty simple one for me," O’Connell said. "The sky has not fallen, so all good."
Workouts continue this week in Eagan before the Vikings host their annual night practice in TCO Stadium on Monday.