Vikings Preseason Game 1: Vikes Plan to Hold Out Veterans

Hoping to see Jared Allen, Antoine Winfield and Kevin Williams in Friday night’s preseason opener? Don’t hold your breath. Judd Zulgad has tweeted, “Hearing Vikings will hold out some vets tonight b/c they want a look at younger players and also b/c they play 49ers in Week 3 of season.”

“Hold out” implies they’ll not be playing at all. I’d guess Jared, Antoine and K-Will are on the list of guys who won’t be seeing any action. It’s possible Toby Gerhart could be on there too since they planned on limiting his work anyway. A sound approach or a load of crap? From a fan perspective, maybe it seems like a bit of a gyp. But it seems like pretty sound thinking to me. Rebuilding team, might as well get a look at the young guys. Old guys can get their reps in the second and third preseason games and be ready for the season. Hell, Jared’s probably ready for the season now.

As for not tipping their hand cause they play the 49ers later in the season: I don’t know, doesn’t seem to matter much to the 49ers. San Fran as far as I know will play their veterans including Randy Moss (though Moss will reportedly not start). They probably don’t give a rip if they tip their hand. Their attitude  is that they can beat anyone, anywhere, any time. That’s how it is for teams with Super Bowl aspirations.

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