Vikings will host the Patriots for joint practices before Aug. 16 preseason game

The Vikings will welcome the New England Patriots for joint practices during training camp at TCO Performance Center in August.

The two teams — and their young quarterbacks — are scheduled to play a preseason game at noon on Saturday, Aug. 16, at U.S. Bank Stadium.

A full schedule for Vikings training camp, including ticket information for fans, will be released at a later date.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was a target of the Vikings during the 2024 NFL draft, having played for quarterback coach Josh McCown in high school.

But Maye went off the board to New England at No. 3, seven spots before the Vikings traded up with the Jets to pick J.J. McCarthy, their expected starting quarterback for 2025, at No. 10.

McCarthy missed his rookie season with a meniscus tear in his right knee suffered in the team’s first preseason game. The injury was announced just before the Vikings headed to Cleveland for joint practices with the Browns.

McCarthy will be the last of 2024’s five first-round QB selections to make his regular-season debut. He appeared in one preseason game against the Raiders and completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

Maye started 12 of 13 games last season, throwing for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He took 34 sacks as the Patriots struggled under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, finishing 4-13.

Mike Vrabel, who was hired to replace Mayo in January, previously conducted joint practices with the Vikings in 2023 when he was the head coach for the Titans.

Vrabel and O’Connell played together for the Patriots in 2008 under then-head coach Bill Belichick. O’Connell touted that personal relationship when Vrabel brought the Titans to town.

Vrabel, 49, had a 54-45 record in six seasons as Titans head coach before he was fired in 2023. He spent last season as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Browns.

The Vikings will also host the Texans on Aug. 9 and travel to play the Titans on Aug. 22 in Nashville to round out their preseason play.

They open the regular season against the Bears in Chicago on "Monday Night Football” on Sept. 8. That game will also feature one of the 2024 first-round quarterbacks in Caleb Williams, as will the Vikings’ Week 2 matchup against the Falcons after Michael Penix Jr. took over for Kirk Cousins at QB late last season.

Emily Leiker, Ben Goessling and Andrew Krammer break down the Vikings schedule on the Access Vikings podcast:

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