Vikings back to Work Monday

Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

Believe it or not, the Vikings players are already about to get back to work. On Monday, the team can report to Winter Park for offseason training.

The Vikings get a two week start on the rest of the NFL because they have a new coaching staff in place. The Browns, Titans, Redskins, Texans, Buccaneers and Lions will also get an early start to their offseason.

The Vikings will find Winter Park a changed place when they entered it, as Mike Zimmer had already had some of the facilities renovated. A theater-like meeting room was built thanks to Zimmer, and the weight room and nutrition program were upgraded as well, according to the USA Today.

The Vikings will be seeing their new weight room plenty in the near future, as the first two weeks of their offseason can include no on-field workouts, per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Even if the team is just going to lift weights for a while, don’t expect players to not report as soon as possible. Tomorrow will represent many of the Vikings players’ first chance to meet their new coaching staff in person.

“It’s a chance for the players to find out what our personalities are like and vice versa,” Zimmer told the USA Today. “(To understand) how they learn and what’s the best way to teach them. All those things are extremely important.”

Zimmer and his staff should be well rested coming into their first week with the team, as the coaching staff was on vacation all last week. With few pro days remaining for players entering the NFL Draft, it’s likely Zimmer will start to focus his attention to the players already on his roster before acquiring new ones in May.

It’s less than two months after the Super Bowl, and players are already getting back to work. Right after the pro days wind down, the NFL starts the next phase of its offseason schedule. This is why the NFL is genius. They make sure the news never stops, even during the so-called “offseason.”