A bit of a different approach

The Minnesota Vikings will be taking a slightly different approach to their preseason opener than they have over the last couple of seasons when it comes to which players take the field and which ones don’t.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has said that Sam Darnold, the presumptive starting quarterback for the Vikings, will start Saturday’s preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. O’Connell also said that a majority of the healthy players on the roster will see action in Saturday’s game.

This is significantly different from what we’ve seen from the team in the first two years of the O’Connell Era, when the starters saw just about no time at all in the preseason. With a collection of new faces on the roster for this year, the team looks to be taking more of an opportunity to get them acclimated to the new schemes they’ll be running and other changes that the team has made over the offseason.

A couple of players who will not be playing include star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and long-time veteran Harrison Smith. In fact, KFAN is advertising that Jefferson will be in the announce booth with Paul Allen and Pete Bercich for the entire third quarter of Saturday’s game. It’s not like there was going to be any actual focus on the game at that point anyway. . .because, really, there hasn’t been. . .but it will be interesting to hear what the best non-quarterback in the NFL thinks about things.

It’s understandable that the Vikings are taking a slightly different approach this preseason, but hopefully they won’t be having to deal with any more significant injuries as a result. I know a lot of us were interested in the preseason opener anyway because, hey, it’s Vikings football, but now we’re actually going to be seeing some of the big names on the team taking part in the action.