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The Minnesota Vikings have had an extremely tough offseason. Minnesota has dealt with a ton of adversity over the past few months, including the tragic passing of cornerback Khyree Jackson. They've also dealt with multiple injuries and transitions on the roster compared to last season. Now the Vikings have to deal with more narratives in the media.
According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell issued the following statement in support of Brian Flores.
“I don't particularly have a comment on something that took place with another team, or I don't like to comment on comments of other players on other teams,” O'Connell said. “But I can just tell you I know that the players who [Flores] works with, and he's got great relationships here. He really has. I know [Minnesota reporters] have heard a lot of them talk about how much they enjoy playing with him and how much I enjoy working with him every day. That's all I can really comment on, and I'd just like to leave it at that.”
O'Connell was addressing comments made earlier this week by Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa made comments suggesting that Brian Flores made several comments to Tua that put him down and made him feel like he wasn't a good QB. He compared this to Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who Tua believes does a good job of lifting him up.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell explains why team is confident in Sam Darnold after crushing JJ McCarthy injury
JJ McCarthy's devastating season-ending injury is just one more body blow for the Vikings before the regular season begins.
With McCarthy out of the picture for 2024, the starting QB job falls to veteran Sam Darnold. He has had an up-and-down career and has certainly not lived up to his expectations as an early first-round pick.
However, coach O'Connell is confident that Darnold has what it takes to lead the Vikings to victory in 2024.
“I think guys are pretty confident in Sam Darnold,” O’Connell said to reporters, via NBC Sports. “I do. When Nick Mullens got his opportunities last year, we were very explosive as an offense. His ability to run the show and really highlight a lot of different aspects of our offense with his understanding is something. That’s why Nick’s here. He’s a guy we really respect and respect his prep and his experience.”
Vikings superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson also went on record in support of Darnold.
“It’s going very well,” Jefferson said. “A lot of people don’t understand that there’s a lot of things that go into a quarterback and a receiver’s connection than just sitting back there and just throwing the ball to a spot. They have to really learn the timing of everything, how I run the routes, where I’m gonna be at in the routes. That’s just us learning each other, learning how he throws the ball, learning how I run the routes. I definitely feel confident in going into Week One with Sam as our quarterback, I feel like he’s been making plays throughout training camp. I don’t have any worry in my mind at all.”
It will be interesting to see how well Darnold performs as Vikings starting QB later this fall.
