Vikings waive LB Brian Asamoah

Getting some good vibes from the Brosmer kid. A lot to like about these plays. Check out Huber's perfectly executed zone block in the first clip and a well-managed 1v1 in the next. 

Anybody else catch this? The Vikings now have male cheerleaders that will be flip flopping around with the female cheerleaders this year. I'm already getting my balls busted over it at work. "Vi-queens" living up their names and all kinds of things. I'm sure I'm not the only one..

I know the Wilfs are the most progressive of progressive owners and use the teams platform to support any and every one of their social causes, but dudes....do you not have a read on who your audience is and who makes up a majority of your fanbase? This is akin to the Bud Light debacle, in that a majority of the fanbase (safe assumption) does not want to see male cheerleaders flopping around and twerking with their pompoms during the games. I've heard some rumor that their are season ticket holders threatening to cancel their tickets over this. Anybody else heard anything similar? It sure would be nice if the league and owners would just focus on football and stop trying to cram social narratives that most don't agree with down the throats of their fanbases. Just a thought

For those you don't know, McCarthy wanted to go to Ohio State. They told him they were not going to recruit any other QBs. He was the guy. After his visit to Columbus, they brought in Kyle McCord, so JJ went to Michigan and has hated Ohio State and Ryan Day ever since. 

A quick glance of ESPN's NFL headlines this morning...

The Cowboys and Jerrah Jones' mismanagement of contracts
Injuries
Alternate pass rush approach
...and so forth.  Not one headline about the Vikings.

Do you miss the times when the Vikings were in the sports headlines?
Favre Watch
Cousins' negotiations
Holdouts...galore...

I for one don't miss those days.

Vikings pass rusher Gabe Murphy is ‘man on a mission’ to make up for lost time

Murphy, the coveted 2024 undrafted signing out of UCLA, was catching the eye of coach Kevin O’Connell before he twice sacked Texans quarterbacks in Saturday’s win.

By Andrew Krammer
The Minnesota Star Tribune

The elation shown by Vikings edge rusher Gabe Murphy, the purple blur responsible for two sacks and three other hits on Texans quarterbacks during Saturday’s preseason win, had been building for a year.

Murphy, a second-year undrafted defender out of UCLA, chopped down on the outside arm of Texans left tackle Zach Thomas, gaining the edge around Thomas with speed before he clocked Texans quarterback Kedon Slovis from behind for his first sack.

From both knees, Murphy celebrated the play by looking skyward with his arms extended.

“This time last year I was on the sidelines watching,” Murphy said after the game, “so it was good getting out there with the guys and I thank God every morning that I can.”

Murphy credits “the grind” of training at his home in Texas with his twin brother, Dolphins linebacker Grayson Murphy, and a healthy offseason after he spent much of his rookie year rehabbing a left knee injury.

The Vikings chased after Murphy following the 2024 draft, guaranteeing him $245,000, which led all of the team’s undrafted rookies last year. Coaches liked what they saw through his first couple of weeks of training camp, but a left knee injury prevented him from playing in the preseason.

Murphy didn’t practice as a rookie until Week 10 and didn’t play until Week 14 against the Falcons, when he said he first started getting his legs back. He said he’s been running in the right direction ever since.

His standout play had been noticed by coach Kevin O’Connell before he racked up the hits in Saturday’s game.

“Gabe’s been a guy that has shown up daily at camp, highlighted in front of the team,” O’Connell said. “It feels like a man on a mission right now in a lot of ways. And I’m just proud of him, proud of where he’s at in camp right now.”

Murphy is behind many edge rushers on the depth chart — Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner — but he is on track to make the team as a healthy contributor this time.

“Sky’s the limit,” Murphy said. “I’m just going to keep working and see where the chips fall.”

McVay can say what he wants publicly, but this ongoing back issue has to be majorly concerning for their outlook in 2025. Backs are always tricky things and Matt is 37 years old. Was supposed to practice last Friday....didn't. Was supposed to practice yesterday.....in street clothes, didn't. They've got time to be extra cautious yet and maybe that's whats happening, but something to keep an eye on.

https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings-training-...d-pressure

“[McCarthy] is a very, very hungry and driven player, but also a leader,” Jones says. “He’s different. In terms of the smarts, I put him in that category with Aaron Rodgers, in terms of how smart he is and really having an understanding for the game.”

It’s a lot of pressure on McCarthy, but his ring from Michigan’s 2024 title team suggests he might be able to handle it.

“He’s been amazing,” Jones says. “I’m honestly confident in what we have here. I feel like we have everything we need, all the pieces we need here. I feel like J.J. is going to surprise a lot of people.”

Various other nuggets, including some quotes from Will Fries. The D might be legit as well. Also read from another source that Jurgens held his own very well yesterday with a vet day off for Ryan Kelly. Showed power in the run game. Held decently against the bigger inside DTs in pass protect, Jurgens is progressing nicely. KAM and staff seemed particularly stoked to draft Jurgens on the inside video coverage of the Draft, maybe we are seeing why now. His big knock was functional strength coming out and that's been rectified. He's got the required length necessary. My comp is a Matt Birk type, Birk was a former 6th rounder that just kept getting better like Jurgens with identical body frame.

Wouldn't wish this on anyone...

Dolphins running back Alexander Mattison underwent season-ending neck surgery Sunday in Chicago, per sources. Mattison hurt his neck during Sunday’s game vs. the Bears, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital and had surgery.

EAGAN, Minn. -- The best player in the Minnesota Vikings training camp this summer had done it once again. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard destroyed the combination of blockers assigned to slow him down, reaching quarterback J.J. McCarthy so fast that coaches blew their whistles before McCarthy could look downfield.

"We call him the closer," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "How many times have we seen him win a one-on-one, or even with help from the back or the tight end, and he just wins and ends the drill?"

The answer: Too many to count.

Greenard dominated the opening weeks of Vikings training camp, reminding crowds not only of his breakout 2024 season, but making clear he has more to give. After posting the message "More is Required" on social media following the Vikings' playoff ouster in January, Greenard has taken it upon himself to demonstrate what he meant.

"It takes a lot of humility to just say, 'Hey, I'm ready to learn today,'" Greenard told ESPN. "I'm trying to learn something every single day so I can just build up on my game, so that nobody can stop me. They may know I do a certain move, but I may have added something else to the move that they've never seen before. And at that point, you're balling."

Greenard earned his first Pro Bowl honor last season after signing with the Vikings as a free agent, and his "Closer" nickname was well-earned. He recorded six of his 12 sacks, and nine of his 18 total tackles for loss, in the fourth quarter or overtime -- the third- and second-most in the NFL, respectively. Sacks are not always the perfect measure of pass-rush skills, but their impact at the end of close games is significant. It's not difficult to connect those plays to the Vikings' 9-1 record in one-score games.

The Vikings' coaching staff, particularly defensive coordinator Brian Flores, has been interested in Greenard's push this summer. Where can the team require more from Greenard? Flores and Greenard held a nuanced conversation about it this offseason.

"He's worked on his pass rush," Flores said. "He's worked on setting the edge in the run game. But also: How do I set somebody up? I think he's that sort of unselfish player."

In other words, what can Greenard do to make the players around him more productive? Greenard nodded his head vigorously when asked for details. One example, he said, is knowing the scheme well enough to avoid using an inside pass-rush move that gets in the way of a defensive tackle.

"That's just about understanding where I can take my moves and realizing that it could lock him up and not let him play free, depending on what I do," Greenard said. "So anytime that I could just make other guys play comfortably and free, while I'm still doing my thing on the outside, that's the main thing we're speaking on.

"Last year was my first year getting used to this system, so now I have a better understanding when I can be aggressive and then add on the ways I can set other people up."

Coverage is also a point of emphasis; it's a requirement for even the most accomplished pass rushers in Flores' scheme. This past season, Greenard bemoaned his failure to follow Detroit Lions tailback Jahmyr Gibbs on a wheel route in the teams' Week 7 matchup. Gibbs gained 16 yards on the play, putting the Lions in position for what turned out to be the winning field goal.

In all, Greenard dropped into coverage on a career-high 64 snaps last season, the second most of any player who finished the season with 10 or more sacks. The only such player with more snaps in coverage was teammate Andrew Van Ginkel (115). Among the 15 other players with at least 10 sacks, the average snaps in coverage was 23.7.


Often, players who focus on improvement are trying to dig out from an underwhelming season. Those who played well are hoping to maintain their level. Greenard, however, is doing neither this summer.

How much better can he truly be in 2025? He's ready to find out.

"Each year I just continue to just learn something," he said. "You might feel like you know it all every single year -- until you have another year and another year under your belt. I always say it's good to be punched in the mouth at times, to make you go back to the drawing board and make you understand why you love this stuff.

"So I feel like I can take this thing as far as God will let me. I have a lot left in the tank."

ESPN