The Viking Age
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Dates announced for Minnesota Vikings OTAs and minicamp

By Adam Carlson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions on October 12, 2014 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Lions defeated the Vikings 17-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions on October 12, 2014 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Lions defeated the Vikings 17-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Dates have been announced for the Minnesota Vikings to hold their OTAs and mincamp as they prepare for the 2018 NFL season.

The 2018 NFL season continues to inch closer as Minnesota Vikings fans patiently wade their way through offseason activities including the NFL Draft, OTAs, minicamp, and other team activities mark another milestone to cross off the list.

On Monday, April 2, 2018, dates were announced for the Vikings offseason activities to begin and those dates were shared in an article written on the website of the Minneapolis Star Tribune in their Access Vikings blog.

Here is the schedule for fans in Minnesota who are excited for the start of team activities:

  • First day: April 16, 2018
  • OTAs: May 22-24, May 29-31, and June 4-7
  • Mandatory minicamp: June 12-14

Players starting to report on April 16th is interesting because this is when players can work out with their staff, including the strength and conditioning coaches. This is 10 days before the 2018 NFL Draft and can be the first time that many of the staff can get a look at some of the new faces coming to training camp.

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OTAs starting near the end of may and running through early June are when the team can run players through some drills on the field and work with coaches as long as it’s not in an offense vs defense type style.

Since there are many players who receive bonuses on their contracts for working out, it is likely that many players will show up for OTAs, giving them an extra benefit to working out around their teammates before they are required to do so.

Finally, mandatory minicamp will get all the Vikings players in together and give coaches and staff a chance to work with the team as a whole.

Of course, this year’s activities will be taking place at the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan, Minnesota for the first year, giving the team their first opportunity to use the new practice field as well as state of the art equipment and facilities.

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It is wonderful that this year will be the first at the new facility and it will be interesting to see if the number of preseason or offseason injuries for the Minnesota Vikings is reduced thanks to having such a state-of-the-art building available.

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