6 biggest takeaways from Kevin O’Connell’s introductory press conference

Barr possibly returning in 2022?

Following the conclusion of Minnesota’s final game of the 2021 season, most assumed that Anthony Barr‘s time in purple had come to an end. Barr even shared some posts on his Instagram account that seemed to indicate he was saying goodbye to the Vikings.

But when talking about some of Minnesota’s top players on the defensive side of the ball, Kevin O’Connell included Barr in his discussion.

O’Connell mentioned how Barr and fellow Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks have caused “huge issues,” for opposing offenses around the NFL for the last handful of years.

Harrison Smith was the only other Vikings defender who O’Connell mentioned on Thursday in addition to Barr and Kendricks. Could this be a sign that Minnesota’s new head coach wants to keep the team’s longtime linebacker duo intact for the 2022 season?

This might just be reading too much into it. But it’s just interesting that O’Connell mentioned Barr when speaking about the defense and not a certain Pro Bowl defensive end that we’ll talk about later.