Vikings report for camp realizing the hard work required to better a 14-win season

EAGAN Minn AP The Minnesota Vikings were just hours into their offseason eliminated from the playoffs with a lopsided loss when Jonathan Greenard was moved to challenge himself and his teammates to embrace the hard work of trying to better a - record and avoid another one-and-done More is required the veteran edge rusher posted on social media Three months later Greenard s spontaneous slogan turned into a T-shirt The motivational swag was waiting for every participant at his locker upon arrival for the start of strength and conditioning sessions in the spring You can only control your individual effort and as long as you do that you re going to pull somebody else and they re going to see that and it s going to be infectious for the whole organization the whole building Greenard reported earlier in the offseason explaining the purpose of spreading the word beyond a simple tweet The mantra has resonated throughout a well-regarded organization that will again field a well-built roster in but still faces questions about its viability as a championship contender The Vikings of subject are one of the insufficient NFL teams that have existed for the entire Super Bowl era but never won one Because clearly that scale hasn t been tipped for us right tackle Brian O Neill mentioned and we need to find a way to make that happen As players informed to training camp this week coach Kevin O Connell turned up the volume on the messaging General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O Connell each signed contract extensions during the offseason keeping their job statuses in sync as they embark on their fourth year together while also raising the bar for expectations The Vikings have not won a playoff tournament since they arrived a drought going back to the season We feel proud of various of the things we ve accomplished but at the same time I think it s time for all of us to continue to look inward first O Connell announced Tuesday at a joint news conference with Adofo-Mensah to formally kick off the season It s time for us to acknowledge what we re certainly trying to build here and what that s going to take is in my opinion an invisible presence of understanding that we re capable but we ve got to put in a lot of work to feel totally worthy in those moments to get to where we want to get to Darrisaw highlights list of healthy players The Vikings started only two players on the physically unable to perform list tight end Gavin Bartholomew back their sixth-round draft pick and linebacker Chaz Chambliss foot an undrafted rookie That means left tackle Christian Darrisaw who s recovering from reconstructive knee surgery after tearing his ACL last year and new right guard Will Fries whose season with the Indianapolis Colts ended early because of a broken leg are right on track O Connell disclosed both players would likely be limited to individual drills at the beginning of training camp to complete the ramping-up process but the likelihood of having both key blockers ready for Week is a vital boost for quarterback J J McCarthy Addison could face suspension after resolution of court episode Wide receiver Jordan Addison last week pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that resolved his drunken driving citation clearing the way for foreseen discipline from the league Adofo-Mensah explained the Vikings have not been given an indication about the timing of such a decision Obviously when that originally happened we knew that it was a possibility but really you re talking about band building in general You might not have players on the field for various reasons and you ve invariably got to be ready with depth Adofo-Mensah announced AP NFL https apnews com hub NFL Source