Darren Hails looks back at the Vikings news from Thursday, 23 July to Wednesday, 29 July 2026. Training camp finally began, Brian O’Neill signed a new deal, Jamal Adams joined the defense and the first proper evidence arrived in the battle between Kyler Murray and J. J. McCarthy.

The Scroll is a day late this week.

I could pretend this was a clever editorial decision so I could wait for the first training-camp practice. The less impressive truth is that it’s just been a busy week. Still, the timing has worked out rather nicely.

After months of projections, rankings, trade rumours and people trying to decide a quarterback competition from a handful of spring throws, the Vikings finally played some football on Wednesday. No pads yet, no tackling to the ground and certainly no reason to start engraving a Week 1 depth chart, but it was football.

J. J. McCarthy looked sharp once he settled into the session. Kyler Murray showed the touch and downfield accuracy that made him the first pick in the draft, then gave the defense an interception. Caleb Banks took part in his first NFL practice. Brian O’Neill arrived with a new contract, Christian Darrisaw arrived without a medical restriction and Jamal Adams arrived apparently willing to play anything from linebacker to kicker.

Busy week indeed.

McCarthy had the better first day, but the job is still open

We wanted practice evidence and now we have some. The trick is not turning one Wednesday in shorts into more than it was.

Alec Lewis reported that Murray and McCarthy both worked with the first-team offense and neither left practice with a dramatic advantage. Murray opened with the starters and made several impressive throws, including a deep completion to Jordan Addison and a well-placed ball to Jauan Jennings. His worst moment was an underthrown deep pass that James Pierre intercepted.

McCarthy took a little longer to find his rhythm, then started landing intermediate throws over the middle and towards the sideline. Purple Insider’s unofficial chart had him completing 12 of 15 passes, compared with 10 of 17 for Murray, although two of Murray’s incompletions were drops and he attempted more difficult throws downfield.

If somebody wants to declare McCarthy the Day 1 winner, I won’t argue too much. He completed more passes, avoided the interception and produced several of the cleaner throws of the session. That is a good start for a player who spent most of the summer being told he was already behind. But it isn’t the same as winning the job.

The encouraging bit for McCarthy was how normal he looked. There was no sign of a player sulking about Murray’s arrival or carrying the trade talk onto the field. He said the play calls are clearer in his head, the defense is slowing down and he can now react when a play breaks rather than thinking through every detail. We have heard confident summer answers before, but this time the football backed him up for at least one practice.

Murray looked comfortable enough in an offense he is still learning. He worked through progressions, found checkdowns and showed why Kevin O’Connell wanted his accuracy and ability to make something happen when the designed play disappears. There were also a couple of throws he will want back. Again, that sounds like the first day of camp rather than a crisis.

O’Connell has said both quarterbacks will work with the first and second groups. The split won’t stay perfectly even once practices become longer and less controlled, but both will get a fair chance. He has a preferred date for making the decision, even if he sensibly declined to tell the rest of us what it is.

For now, the first practice confirmed two things. This is a proper competition, and McCarthy is capable of keeping it that way. Monday’s first padded session and the longer move-the-ball periods will tell us more than another completion chart in shorts.

I know that won’t stop us all keeping score. We have waited this long. Nobody is suddenly going to become sensible now.

Brian O’Neill is staying, and Teasley has shown his hand

Last week, Brian O’Neill’s early-camp participation was one of the main questions in this article. By Tuesday, Nolan Teasley had removed it.

The Vikings signed O’Neill to a four-year extension that keeps him in Minnesota through 2030. The maximum value has been reported at $96 million, which is serious money for a right tackle who turns 31 in September, but this was also the cleanest way to deal with the situation.

O’Neill admitted he hated missing parts of the spring programme while the contract was unresolved. He wanted the deal finished before camp because he likes practising, leading the group and being involved in everything. That may sound like the obvious thing for a player to say after signing a new contract, but it fits everything we have seen from him across eight seasons.

He has started 120 games for the Vikings, served as a captain for five consecutive years and blocked for eight starting quarterbacks. The last number says plenty about why keeping him was worth the expense. Minnesota is trying to choose another Week 1 starter, install Blake Brandel at center, improve the running game and find out whether Darrisaw can stay healthy for a full season. Letting the most reliable part of the line enter camp unhappy or leave next spring would have added another problem they didn’t need.

The deal is also Teasley’s first major player decision as general manager. He could have treated O’Neill as a leftover contract from the previous regime, waited a year and trusted Caleb Tiernan to become the long-term replacement. Instead, he identified O’Neill as one of the players he wants around while the roster changes.

That tells us more about Teasley than another press conference about alignment.

There is still risk. O’Neill missed time last season, and this contract is designed to carry him well into his thirties. The Vikings will hope the structure gives them some protection later in the deal. Even so, I would rather see them pay a very good tackle they know than create a hole and hope a younger player fills it.

O’Neill said the urgency and intensity inside the building have gone up, but he also pointed out that the Vikings have won one playoff game during his eight years. He didn’t sign this deal to look back fondly at a nice career. He wants the team to make a proper run while he is still part of it.

Now he gets to judge both quarterbacks from the best seat in the house.

Darrisaw and Banks finally got better health news

The Vikings have spent most of the summer asking fans to be patient with two very different injury recoveries.

Christian Darrisaw was coming back from the knee injury that continued to affect him last season. Caleb Banks hadn’t practised since Minnesota made him the 18th pick in the draft because of the foot and ankle problems that followed him out of Florida.

This week, both stories moved in the right direction.

O’Connell said Darrisaw has no physical concerns or limitations entering camp. The team will still manage his workload because training camp is long and there is nothing clever about wearing out your left tackle in July, but he has had a healthy offseason and is ready to go.

That is about as positive an update as the Vikings could give without Darrisaw playing an actual game. At his best, he is one of the most important players on the roster. The difficulty over the past two seasons has been getting enough of that version.

Banks then took the field on Wednesday for his first NFL practice and mixed in with the starters alongside Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez. There was no full contact, so we still haven’t seen whether his 6-foot-6 frame, quick first step and power hold up against NFL linemen in pads. We did see him cleared, moving and taking team reps rather than watching from the side.

For a player whose entire draft story has been tied to his medical record, that was a decent first victory.

The next checkpoint comes on Monday when the pads go on. Banks was drafted to attack gaps, move around the front and give Brian Flores pressure from inside. He has to show he can play with the right pad level and avoid being moved by double teams, but at least those are now football questions rather than another round of guessing about a scan.

The same applies to Darrisaw. Nobody needs him to prove he is an All-Pro during the first week of camp. We need to see him practise regularly, handle physical work and be ready when the games count.

With O’Neill signed, Darrisaw healthy and Banks finally on the field, both lines started camp in a better place than they were a week ago. I don’t want to tempt fate, obviously. We are Vikings fans. Tempting fate is usually where the trouble begins.

Jamal Adams gives Flores another strange piece to move around

The Vikings signed Jamal Adams on Tuesday, which immediately produced two reactions.

One group saw the three Pro Bowls, the 21.5 sacks over his first five seasons and the former sixth overall pick. The other saw the injuries, the position change and a player who has been through Seattle, Tennessee, Detroit and Las Vegas since 2023.

Both versions are true.

Adams is no longer the star safety the Seahawks traded two first-round picks to acquire. He also isn’t being paid or guaranteed a role as though he is. The Vikings listed him as a linebacker, and he made it clear that his first job is to make the 53 rather than demand the reputation of his younger self does it for him.

His description of his position was slightly less restrained. Adams said he could play linebacker, safety, corner, nose tackle, defensive end or kicker, then offered to walk the dog if required.

I’m not sure special teams coordinator Matt Daniels needs to worry about Will Reichard’s job just yet.

The serious version is that Adams gives Flores another experienced defender who can line up near the box, blitz, cover short areas and make the offense work out who he is before the snap. Josh Metellus already does a more complete version of that job. Adams doesn’t need to replace him or Harrison Smith. He needs to earn a few packages where his aggression and tackling still help.

His arrival also adds pressure elsewhere. Ivan Pace Jr. was already trying to win back defensive snaps from Eric Wilson. Rookie Jake Golday is learning inside and outside linebacker jobs. Theo Jackson, Jay Ward and Jakobe Thomas are competing for safety work while Smith remains away.

Every snap given to Adams has to come from somebody. Every roster place used on a veteran who may not play much special teams has a knock-on effect for a younger defender.

I like the signing without pretending it is a huge one. The contract gives Minnesota room to walk away if the old burst is gone or the role never becomes clear. If Adams is healthy and Flores finds ten or fifteen useful snaps for him, the defense gets a player with experience, edge and a point to prove.

Teasley knew Adams from Seattle. Adams said Teasley and Flores were the two reasons he chose Minnesota. Now comes the difficult bit: turning a familiar name into a current football player.

Gerald Alexander’s suspension is a poor start

One story shouldn’t disappear underneath the camp excitement.

Vikings defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander has been suspended for three weeks without pay after pleading guilty to driving while impaired.

According to court records reported by The Athletic, Alexander was found passed out at an intersection in April. A preliminary breath test recorded 0.169, more than twice Minnesota’s legal limit, and he later refused a further breath test. His suspension began on 24 July and runs until 13 August.

Alexander apologised, took responsibility and said he accepts the punishment. The Vikings said they remained in contact with the NFL while the legal process continued and believe a three-week suspension is appropriate.

It is a poor and dangerous decision, and the details make it difficult to soften. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but that doesn’t make driving in that condition less serious.

There is also a football consequence, even if it comes a long way behind the wider issue. Alexander was hired in February to lead a defensive-back group already working through Smith’s absence, several young safeties and a changing cornerback rotation. He will now miss the opening stretch of camp when Jakobe Thomas, Charles Demmings and the rest of that group are trying to earn trust.

The Vikings have punished him and he has accepted it. He now has to make sure the apology is followed by better choices.

Adrian Peterson’s Ring of Honor night is set

The Vikings also confirmed when Adrian Peterson will enter the Ring of Honor.

The ceremony will take place on Monday, 9 November against the Buffalo Bills, giving the franchise one of its biggest home nights of the season on Monday Night Football.

Peterson remains Minnesota’s record holder for career rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns. His 2,097-yard MVP season in 2012 is still one of the most ridiculous individual seasons any of us have watched, especially when everybody in the stadium knew the offense was going through him and most defenses still couldn’t stop it.

His wider story is more complicated than a highlight reel, and fans will have their own view on how comfortable they are with the honour. On the football alone, his place among the greatest players in franchise history is clear.

The date is useful for UK and Ireland fans planning the season as well. Monday Night Football means a very late start on our side of the Atlantic, but Peterson going into the Ring of Honor against Josh Allen and the Bills will probably be one of those nights when the next morning has to deal with itself.

What comes next

One unpadded practice hasn’t answered the biggest question at quarterback. It did make the competition look genuine, and McCarthy gave himself a good first line on the camp report.

O’Neill’s contract is done. Darrisaw is healthy enough to begin without restrictions. Banks has moved from rehabilitation to football. Adams is now one of the odd-shaped pieces Flores can test, while Alexander’s suspension leaves the defensive-back staff short during a busy part of camp.

The next useful evidence will come when the pads go on. That is when the offensive line can start proving the run-game talk, Banks can take on NFL power and the young edge rushers can show whether Minnesota’s decision not to sign a recognised third option was confidence or hope.

The Vikings are back on the field. We still don’t know who will lead them out against Green Bay, but at least we can finally judge something more useful than a rumour.

Worth waiting an extra day for, then. I am sticking with that version.