2019 ScheduleAll times ET

2019 Schedule
8-7-1, 2nd in NFC North
2d

NFL Nation Takeover: Vikings

ESPN NFL Nation Vikings Reporter Courtney Cronin was a guest host on Dari & Mel and chatted with Dari about the upcoming season for the Vikings.

Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
6dCourtney Cronin

Vikings RB Thomas gets 3-game suspension

Vikings running back Roc Thomas was suspended three games following his arrest in January for marijuana possession.

26d

My Wife Left Me But The Pack Is Back

Mina and Adam Schefter take a closer look at the NFC North and discuss the offseason changes made by the Packers (4:44), Lions (17:01), Bears (41:47), and Vikings (49:14). Plus, Mina asks Adam who would play him in a movie and why his news breaking tweets don't have a name like Adrian Wojnarowski's do?

Courtney Cronin ESPN Staff Writer 

Kubiak on the difficulty of establishing consistency on offense while having to go against a defense that has been together for the last 5 seasons: "No I think that's just real. They are way ahead. They have been running this scheme for a long time and doing it really, really good. What I told Kevin and I told our players is it gives us a chance to be really good. Because we go against good people every day. Our defense is excellent and that gives us a chance to be as good as we can possibly be. Everything that happens out here is real and we're making good progress. We have to be on our toes each and every day to be able to find ways to move the football. That will give us a chance to be as good as we can be. "

Courtney Cronin ESPN Staff Writer 

Gary Kubiak is adjusting to his new role as an assistant head coach/offensive advisor. That entails working closely with Kevin Stefanski to help the Vikings OC form his offensive philosophy in similar ways that Mike Shanahan helped Kubiak when he was just starting out as a young OC: "We got together as a group in the offseason and we kind of put our stuff together and it was kind of crossing paths on some various things," Kubiak said. "We've come up with the Minnesota offense is what we've done. Basically I'm just with him every day, every minute, in meetings with the coaches. We go in, he teaches. I'm in there watching him teach and what we do and then we sit down and talk. He's doing things I've done for a long, long time. Mike Shanahan used to sit in his office and watch me teach with a monitor. I remember those days. In a lot of ways I'm sitting in there watching Kevin teach every day. I've really enjoyed it. I'm impressed with his work ethic and his passion and his ability to reach people in a lot of different ways."

Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports
40dCourtney Cronin

Cousins: I'm .500 QB, need wins for 'next level'

Kirk Cousins on Wednesday acknowledged that he's a .500 quarterback for his career and needs to lead the Vikings to victories to get to the next level.

Courtney Cronin ESPN Staff Writer 

Kirk Cousins on the notion of taking his game to the 'next level' in 2019 and what that means: "I think the next level, really, is all about winning," Cousins said. "I'm pretty much a .500 quarterback in my career so far and I don't think that's where you want to be and that's not why you are brought in or people are excited about you. If I don't play well, if I don't have gaudy statistics but we win multiple playoffs games the narrative will be I went to the next level. And I may not walk off the field every day feeling like I did, but if we win, that's the life of a quarterback is you are at the next level. And if I have my best year yet in 2019, but we're 8-8, I didn't go to the next level. So that's the reality of it, and I'm going to all I can, control what I can control, and I think one thing I can beyond just playing the best I can is to start really coaching and leading other people, so that I can never walk off the field, saying, ‘Hey I did my part but so and so different.' That can't happen as a quarterback. You have to bringing others along, so that isn't a point your making at an end of a practice or a game. So that's what it's really all about.''

Courtney Cronin ESPN Staff Writer 

Gary Kubiak's offenses run a lot of outside zone and play-action. The boots are something Kirk Cousins is notably very good at and should be used heavily in 2019, but the play-action game has had its share of challenges this spring in Minnesota. "I would say it's definitely a work in progress," offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski said. "At times it's good, at times it's bad. And the best thing you can do is watch our defense, and if they believe it and the sell is legit you'll get a reaction from our linebackers and our front seven, so I think it's been OK. Certainly a ton of room for improvement, and it's going to be a constant point of emphasis for our entire offense because when you talk play action it's very simple to just say it's the quarterback and the running back, but it's the offensive line, it's the tight ends, it's the wide receivers, it's everybody working in conjunction so that the pass looks like a run."

Jim Mone/AP
42dCourtney Cronin

Source: Vikes extend Rudolph for 4 years, $36M

Veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph has agreed to a contract extension with the Vikings. The deal is worth $36 million over four years, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Adam Schefter ESPN Senior Writer 

Vikings are giving veteran TE Kyle Rudolph a four-year, $36 million extension that locks him into Minnesota, per source.

Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports
48dAdam Rittenberg

Big Ten's 'legacy' opportunity excites Warren

Kevin Warren, who will become the first black commissioner of a Power Five conference when he replaces Jim Delany on Sept. 16, said he left the Vikings to lead the Big Ten because it's a "legacy" opportunity.

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Team Stats

Passing Yards252.313th
Rushing Yards93.330th
Points For22.519th
Points Against21.39th