The Minnesota Vikings have plenty of questions after cutting their roster down to 53 players over the weekend, but one thing that is set in stone is that they’ll open the regular season by hosting the Green Bay Packers on September 13.
The stakes feel higher anytime the Packers roll into town, and as a team that started 9-3-1 before Micah Parsons tore his ACL, Vikings fans may see this as a litmus test for how the upcoming season will turn out.
But even if Vikings fans have a friend from Manitowoc screaming in their ear, the Packers have their own baggage to figure out.
Josh Jacobs landing on the commissioner’s list on Sunday is one problem brewing across the river, and with Parsons rehabbing from a knee injury and many other lingering issues heading into Week 1, the Packers may not be the Super Bowl contender they think they are and may not even pose a threat to the Vikings going into 2026.
Green Bay Packers could be this year’s version of the 2025 Minnesota Vikings
The Packers believe they can compete for a Super Bowl this season, and a look at their roster makes a strong argument.
They have a solid quarterback in Jordan Love and an All-Pro pass-rusher in Parsons. Tucker Kraft is coming back from his torn ACL, and Green Bay got rid of some of their scapegoats from a year ago by firing special teams coordinator Rich Bissaccia, releasing kicker Brandon McManus, and trading edge rusher Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys.
With a trademark optimism over player development for players like Matthew Golden, who didn’t score a touchdown during the regular season last year, and Colin Oliver, a 2025 fifth-round pick who was injured for all but one game last season but somehow earned the nickname “Baby Micah,” it’s easy for anyone wearing a cheesehead to believe a Super Bowl is coming.
But Vikings fans know that baggage can carry into the following season.
Look no further than where the Vikings were one year ago. They won 14 games during the 2024 campaign and while Sam Darnold left in free agency, the belief was they had the infrastructure to elevate J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback.
Having Justin Jefferson and a top-five defense also added to the argument and fans believed this team was ready to make a run toward the Super Bowl.
But that train of thought overlooked some of the underlying issues with the team.
Christian Darrisaw was making his way back from a multiligament knee injury and while fans watched T.J. Hockenson struggle in the same situation the previous year, it was assumed Darrisaw had recovered as he took part in team drills during the offseason.
But when the regular season began, Darrisaw was not in the starting lineup and spent the rest of the year going in and out of games, leading fans to become way too familiar with Justin Skule.
The Vikings receiver room was also as sturdy as wet toilet paper. Jefferson’s hamstring injury during training camp was brushed off but became important when Jordan Addison’s three-game suspension for a 2024 DWI arrest became official.
Jalen Nailor injured his hand during training camp, and it triggered a trade for Adam Thielen, who brought nothing but nostalgia in 11 games before requesting his release.
Some of these concerns were painted over by free agent pickups like Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Ryan Kelly, but it turned out there were legitimate reasons why those players were available.
The biggest misfire, however, was the feeling that McCarthy was ready to go on a “Patrick Mahomes replacing Alex Smith” career arc.
The Vikings felt like they had the infrastructure in place for McCarthy to be successful, but it was asking a lot for a player who was recovering from a torn meniscus the year before to step in and lead a Super Bowl contender.
A slew of injuries and memes followed, and by the time fans blinked, the Vikings were 4-8 and virtually eliminated from playoff contention.
Green Bay Packers are hiding the same warning signs that doomed the Minnesota Vikings last season
Fast forward to today and the Packers have a lot of underlying concerns that could carry from last year’s collapse into this season.
Many believe that Parsons will instantly be the same game-wrecker he was before the injury, but while those people use Adrian Peterson’s 2012 season as the Mona Lisa for ACL recoveries, most players have needed time to get back to their peak form, as Hockenson and Darrisaw needed with their injuries.
The same goes for Kraft, who was the Packers' one reliable offensive weapon before he was injured last October.
While everything looks great now, it could take him a while to get back to how he was playing before the injury, which is another concern for an offense centered around receivers who are known for either getting hurt (Christian Watson, Jayden Reed) or being overhyped (Golden).
Then, there’s the Jacobs situation. After being arrested for a domestic violence incident in May, Jacobs’s placement on the commissioner’s list leaves him without a clear timetable to return, as he can not play or practice with the team.
In his place, the Packers will bank on MarShawn Lloyd, who has appeared in one game over his first two seasons due to injury, and Kaleb Johnson, whose lone highlight during his rookie season was not knowing the NFL’s kickoff rules.
These are just some of the problems the Packers are facing.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and instead of replacing him with an obvious choice of Wisconsin native Jim Leonhard, they chose to hire Jonathan Gannon, who is a big reason why Kyler Murray is now in Minnesota.
The Packers replaced Bissacia with his hand-chosen replacement, Cam Achord, while bringing back maligned offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and offensive line coach Luke Butkus, who were about as popular as mixing in a water with their 10th Spotted Cow.
To top it all off, the Packers brought back head coach Matt LaFleur, whose claim to fame, other than choking in the playoffs, is carrying the energy of a football Karen at all times.
The one thing the Packers have over last year’s Vikings is stability at quarterback. But even Love isn’t immune to occasional meltdowns, leaving Green Bay fans quick to defend him with EPA printouts in the same way some Minnesota fans still defend Kirk Cousins.
This doesn’t mean the Packers are destined for a losing season, but it’s a lot to overcome before they’ve even played an official snap. The 2025 Vikings learned that you can only hide baggage for so long, and the latest developments could make the Packers the NFC North’s paper tiger going into this season.
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