Patriots-Vikings joint practice prompts plenty of reunions and valuable tests, with no tussling
Joint practice, our place. Just like we did it before .
Two years after Vrabel brought the Tennessee Titans to Minnesota for some valuable training camp work against another team, he took the Patriots this week for two days of drills against the Vikings in advance of their preseason game.
'There's a reason why the Patriots are here: It starts with their head football coach and their organization itself,' said O'Connell, who's starting his fourth year in Minnesota. 'I've got so much respect for Vrabes and our relationship over the years.'
O'Connell was a rookie backup quarterback with the Patriots in 2008, the last of eight seasons Vrabel played outside linebacker for them. Vrabel, a 14-year NFL veteran, coached the Titans for six seasons and spent 2024 as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns.
Asked about his impression of O'Connell as a player, Vrabel was ready with a quip before the teams took the field on Wednesday afternoon.
'He wasn't as good as Tom Brady,' he said, with a deadpan expression.
Vrabel and O'Connell were far from the only connections between the two teams. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores spent 15 years with the Patriots organization in various roles. Stefon Diggs is the highest-profile Patriots player who previously was with the Vikings, but that list also includes backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs and center Garrett Bradbury.
Bradbury, like his former head coach O'Connell, mentioned the word 'relationships' when assessing his return to a facility where he trained for six seasons after being drafted in the first round in 2019 out of North Carolina State.
'On one hand, it feels like I never left. On the other hand, I've got another jersey on and some new teammates,' Bradbury said. 'A lot of people here mean a lot to me and helped me the last six years, so it's good to see everyone again.'
Bradbury was released with one season left on his contract, part of Minnesota's push to revamp the interior of the offensive line after it was overwhelmed in the wild card round loss to the Los Angeles Rams that left O'Connell's playoff record at 0-2. He didn't want to leave, but he's found invigoration in his new surroundings.
'I think it should be mandatory that everyone play for at least two organizations because you get to re-prove yourself, reinvent yourself,' Bradbury said, recounting advice he received from a former player after he was let go. 'You get to meet a lot of people, make awesome friends and see different ways of doing things.'
NFL coaches have grown to much prefer the controlled setting of joint practices over exhibition games during which to test their players against different opponents. When the Patriots hosted the Washington Commanders last week , a couple of fights occurred — and Vrabel even jumped into one scrum to try to break it up before emerging with a bloodied nose.
The Patriots and Vikings had no such trouble, perhaps a sign of the respect between the two organizations. Because he felt the energy level was lacking, Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins said later, the eighth-year journeyman decided to punt the ball into the bleachers after a long touchdown pass from Drake Maye.
Maye had plenty of pressure in full-team drills that likely would've resulted in sacks during games, but with no tackling allowed he was able to let several deep passes rip down the field that hit their intended targets. Former Vikings wide receiver Diggs caught one of them at the sideline with Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. in coverage. Another one of the highlights went to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson on a well-designed wheel route that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might well like to dial up again this season.
'It's hard to catch him when he's in the open field,' Maye said.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Little League World Series scores: Results, schedule from Day 4 as Texas faces Massachusetts, Pennsylvania plays Illinois
The 2025 Little League World Series is officially off and running. Eight teams continue their quest to win it all in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Friday in the annual summer tournament. A new winner will be crowned in 2025, too, after last year's champion, Lake Mary, Florida, was eliminated in the regional round. Which teams will prevail and remain in the winner's bracket? Catch up on all of the action below. Saturday's Little League World Series schedule Here's what's coming up on Saturday: Australia (0-1) vs. Czechia (0-1) at 10 a.m. ET Texas (0-1) vs. Massachusetts (0-1) at 3 p.m. ET Puerto Rico (0-1) vs. Mexico (0-1) at 5 p.m. ET Pennsylvania (0-1) vs. Illinois (0-1) at 7 p.m. ET Little League World Series format In case you need a refresher, the 2025 Little League World Series will feature a total of 20 teams: 10 from the United States and 10 international clubs. Those teams will compete in a modified double-elimination tournament. Play began Wednesday, Aug. 13, with the winners advancing and remaining in the winners' portion of the bracket. Starting Saturday, Aug. 16, the teams that lost their first games will face off to determine which teams remain in the event. Once a team loses twice, it is eliminated. That changes once the championships begin. The U.S. championship game and the international championship game will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, and will both be single-elimination games. The same thing will be true for the LLWS championship game. That creates a scenario in which a team could be eliminated from the event with just one loss. Games will last six innings. If a game is tied after six innings, both teams will play the seventh inning as normal, with no ghost runners on base. If a game extends past the seventh inning, a runner will open each inning on second base. Friday's Little League World Series schedule Venezuela 4, Canada 0 Nevada 5, Washington 3 Aruba 8, Panama 2 Connecticut 5, Hawai'i 1 Sunday's Little League World Series schedule Here's what's coming up on Sunday: Northwest vs. Southwest/New England winner at 9 a.m. ET Canada vs. Australia/Europe-Africa Winner at 11 a.m. ET West vs. Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic Winner at 1 p.m. ET Panama vs. Game 15 Winner at 2 p.m. ET The evening will close out with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets playing in the MLB Little League Classic at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cleveland Browns Dealt Troubling Shedeur Sanders Blow on Wednesday
Cleveland Browns Dealt Troubling Shedeur Sanders Blow on Wednesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After being projected as a potential top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round where the Cleveland Browns selected him with the No. 144 pick. The son of Deion Sanders now finds himself in a quarterback battle with fourth other signal callers and is hoping to take advantage of every rep he gets. Sanders, 23, got the starting nod in the team's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, leading the team to a 30-10 victory. Despite minimal reps with the ones, Sanders was able to shine, completing 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. While many assumed this would be enough to move him up the depth chart past fellow rookie, Dillon Gabriel who the Browns drafted in the third round, Sanders still finds himself at the bottom of the depth chart. As if he didn't already have an uphill journey to earn a starting or even backup role, Sanders was hit with untimely news on Wednesday. Shedeur Sanders Suffers Setback As reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, Sanders suffered an oblique injury during the team's Wednesday practice. "Browns QB Shedeur Sanders suffered an oblique injury while throwing during the early portion of practice today, and was held out for the rest of the session," wrote Schefter. Although this explains why Sanders didn't receive a single rep in the team's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, it certainly could not come at a worse time. Shedeur Sanders Was In Line to Start Second Preseason Game The development comes about an hour after head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that Sanders would start the team's Saturday preseason game against the Eagles if Gabriel and Pickett were unable to play. This is the second injury of the preseason for Sanders who also dealt with an arm injury last week. If he is unable to practice or play, his chances of working his way of the depth chart will take a huge hit. Now, it's entirely possible he was held out for precautionary reasons and may be able to play on Saturday, but any reps missed are a missed story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
College Football Playoff: Big Ten floats 24-plus-team format
New college football playoff formats of 20-plus teams are being explored by leaders in the Big Ten, and perhaps the SEC too. Big Ten executives are socializing 24 and 28-team College Football Playoff brackets that feature as many as seven automatic qualifiers each for the Big Ten and SEC, five each for the Big 12 and ACC, two for the best Group of 6 programs and two at-large selections. Those briefed on the idea, most of them leading administrators in the Big Ten, spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity about the so-called '7-7-5-5-2-2' model. Those with knowledge of the discussions caution that the concept is in the infancy stage of development and may undergo significant changes or be dismissed entirely once introduced to the full CFP group. For now, it remains a talking point within the two leagues that control decision making over the future CFP format beyond this year. One high-level source described it as a 'barely baked idea' and emphasized that it is in no way certain to gain approval any time soon. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey held a preliminary call to exchange thoughts on the idea on Friday. The concept, if implemented, could trigger massive change, both in the historic nature of how regular season games are scheduled and the annual season-ending conference championship games. League title games, made more irrelevant in the expanded playoff era, may be eliminated as a requirement in scheduling the five rounds of the playoff — something administrators have openly acknowledged in the past. Specific rules of the concept are not necessarily solidified, but, presumably, the format will allow for the top four seeds to receive a first-round bye. Currently, the CFP selection committee seeds the teams based on the group's rankings. Conferences would presumably hold discretion in determining their qualifiers, a decision that likely focuses on league standings. Eliminating conference championship games — the first weekend of December — would set in motion the ability to play at least the first round of the playoffs on the second week of the month, when no NFL games are played, a savvy maneuver to avoid competing with big brother. The 12-team CFP's first round falls on the third weekend of December, in direct competition with the NFL. The addition of a fifth postseason round also opens the possibility for the first two rounds to be hosted on the campus of the higher-seeded program. Currently, only the first round is on campus before the six major bowls host the quarterfinals and semifinals. The national championship game is rotated in a bidding process. The 28-team concept is only the latest format proposed to expand the current version of the field. The Big Ten proposed last year and again earlier this spring a 16-team bracket with four automatic qualifiers for the SEC and Big Ten, two for the ACC and Big 12, one for the best among the Group of 6 and three at-large. Though it received pushback from many corners, most notably among leaders in the ACC and Big 12, SEC administrators deeply explored the model with intentions to support it before their head football coaches spoke out against the format during spring meetings in May. Those from the Big 12 and ACC, as well as SEC coaches, swung their support behind what's termed a '5+11' format, which is similar to the current CFP model with the addition of four at-large selections. The five highest-ranked conference champions each earn an automatic berth. Any future format is not necessarily a group decision among the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director that make up the CFP governing committee. As part of the CFP's new six-year extension signed last year, the nine other members granted the SEC and Big Ten control on any future format as long as those two conferences hold 'meaningful' conversation with the others. The Big Ten's proposed '4-4-2-2-1-3' model drew sharp criticism from many others, most notably Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark who 'doubled down' during his football media days last month about his desire to avoid any pro-like format with multiple automatic qualifiers for a single league. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips spoke out against it, too, describing the format as 'predetermining' a playoff field before the season began. The leagues, as well as many in the Group of 6, threw their support behind the 5+11 format and so, too, did the SEC coaches and some of their athletic directors who pointed to the possibility of increasing the chances of qualifying more teams in a format with a bigger at-large pool. However, in the midst of the playoff debate is an internal conversation within the SEC that's now spanned more than four years: Should the league move to nine conference games from its current eight-game schedule? The Big Ten has pushed back against agreeing to any playoff format with a big at-large pool if the SEC remains at eight games. SEC athletic directors meet next week in Birmingham where these topics, and many more, are expected to be discussed. Any shift toward a playoff with multiple automatic spots per league may be a contributing element in the conference moving to a nine-game conference schedule. Already, the financial incentive to do so exists: ESPN and the SEC have for months now been in negotiations for additional revenue - as much as $5 million annual per school - if the conference adds a ninth game. Meanwhile, the CFP is in the midst of adjusting its selection criteria to increase the weight of a team's strength of schedule - a divisive issue among Big Ten and SEC leaders who claim that their league schedules are tougher than that of other conferences. The CFP staff proposed to commissioners an adjustment to the committee's strength of schedule ranking that gives more weight to games played, for instance, against the top 30-40 programs in the country. Secondly, a new data point, 'strength of record,' has been created that grants more weight to good wins and doesn't penalize as much a program for losses against ranked or top teams. The new selection criteria was introduced to the CFP selection committee - a group made up mostly athletic directors and former coaches - during their annual August meeting earlier this week. A deadline looms for a decision for the 2026 playoff. While this year is set at the current 12-team format, leaders must decide on the 2026 format by Dec. 1 - a deadline date that ESPN gave to CFP leaders.
