First Day of Full Pads for Vikings Training Camp

With two weeks left until the first preseason game, the Vikings got the pads on for the first time in camp.

EAGAN, Minn. – The Minnesota Vikings kicked off week two of their training camp at the new Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center. And it was the first time the team could practice in full pads.

The players have had a week to get acclimated to the new facility. And they say so far they like their new home.

“I’ve been here. This isn’t anything new for me. I was here when it opened. I was rehabbing over the summer so I’ve been here. This is nothing new for me,” said running back Dalvin Cook.

“You can’t beat the setup that we have here with these facilities and the nutrition that we’ve got going on here. Everything that the Vikings organization has put together is top notch,” safety Harrison Smith said.

With the pads comes added intensity to practice, and the players embrace that physicality.

“That’s definitely our identity as Vikings. That’s always been something in this organization is being tough-nosed, hard-nosed players on all sides of the ball. It’s something that we live up to and the coaches do a good job of instilling that into us,” said fullback CJ Ham.

It’s also a time where veterans spend as much time as they can with the younger players on the team.

“Guys have asked guys who have been around and said ‘Hey can you help me after practice?’ That’s what we do. We’re a team. We’re trying to help everybody get better. We need as many people as possible to play well throughout the preseason and stay healthy in practice and just compete to get our receivers better, our offense better and our defense better,” cornerback Terrance Newman said.

Now the Vikings are still two weeks away from their first preseason game. But the anticipation is building rapidly for that August 11th match-up in Denver.