The wait is finally over. The Minnesota Vikings are about to embark on the 2026 season, and it’s been a long time coming.

We are all waiting on the quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, and the battle will be a fierce one. Outside of that, there are a few things worth keeping an eye on during the reporting process.

Caleb Banks and other potential injuries

The Vikings are very hopeful that Caleb Banks will come to training camp 100% ready to practice. He suffered a broken foot while practicing for the NFL Scouting Combine in the hotel and has yet to hit the practice field because of it.

Banks likely won’t be the only player potentially dealing with an injury, and it’s important to understand how those players get classified. During the offseason, these lists act differently than they do after final cuts are made.

• Non-football injury list (NFI): Any injury suffered outside of an NFL facility. This includes players who come to the NFL with an injury. If Banks isn’t fully cleared, he will end up on the NFI list, which prevents him from practicing.
• Physically unable to perform list (PUP): Any injury suffered inside of an NFL facility, meaning from the offseason program or during a game from previous seasons. Like the NFI list, players on the PUP list cannot practice until they are activated.
• Injured reserve (IR): Any player who lands on injured reserve until after final cuts clear waivers will miss the entire 2026 season. Once those waivers clear, players can come back after four weeks.

Free agent signing

We can look at multiple different positions and think they need a potential upgrade. The top spot that needs one is edge rusher. Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel are a very good starting duo, but the depth is not great. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is a good rotational player, but as an edge rusher, there are severe limitations.

That leads me to believe that a veteran signing could be in the works. The top option on the market is Jadeveon Clowney, who had 40 pressures and 8.5 sacks in less than 400 snaps last year as a rotational player. The Vikings could use that kind of depth.

Kevin O’Connell’s initial comments

Tuesday afternoon will bring the first press conference for head coach Kevin O’Connell since June 11th when mandatory minicamp was finishing. We will likely be getting some more details on the quarterback competition, and possibly some questions about the Dianna Russini traffic stop where she name-dropped O’Connell.

Plus, general manager Nolan Teasley will be talking to the media as well, and hopefully there will be more interesting details about how he feels about the roster.