Will Vikings made moves ahead of NFL trade deadline?

Good to see everybody. Hope you guys had a good bye week. Hopefully your employers gave you the week off. Deserve it. But it's been a while, but I did want to still congratulate Byron Murphy on his NFC defensive player of the week award coming out of New Orleans. I told our guys if they, you know, they had an elite bye week, maybe we could win it five weeks in a row. But unfortunately, that did not happen. So we got to start a new streak this week, hopefully, but really excited to get back to US Bank Stadium. the energy and just the support we feel we have felt on the road this season has been one thing but at home it's just been next level and I can't wait to see our fans back in there we welcome in welcoming a really talented team I got a ton of respect for Shane known him a long time and and just think as you watch the tape they you know talent you know on offense talent on defense special teams super impactful as well so it's going to be really a big time challenge for us We need our fans, we need the energy, as well as we need to make sure we hit the ground running coming off the bye. We can't have any kind of sluggish start coming off the bye, and we're talking a lot about that, just tons of energy and focus, and we earned the right to show up with a ton of confidence about what we do in practice this week. So just to give you guys a couple injury updates, TJ and Christian Daresaw, both doing great. They'll work through kind of the final phase by practicing today and should hopefully clear that protocol and encourage about their availability on Sunday. And then Jordan Mason obviously will return to practice today and we'll see how his work week looks before we make any determinations about whether he can play on Sunday. How do you feel the offense has been changed and the two running backs healthy that you just haven't had much? Well, I just think, you know, we even saw it in the opener on the play Jordan got dinged up on. you know that was kind of a play we you know had gotten off to a little bit of a slow start some unscouted looks early on in that game some plays that the Packers made but as the game went on and then popping that long run that he did on wide zone like I just think it's Jordan is a he's one of those backs because we have Aaron because we have the ability to keep him fresh but also let him keep leaning on the defense he's one of those backs that gets better as the game goes on so I think we'll see that obviously you know hopefully getting CD and TJ back in there will you know allow us to open up kind of the full run game and and be in a little bit more of attack mode and then the marriage of all that with the pass game and the different phases of our offense so I thought we you know we got some things done over the bye as a coaching staff kind of taking a look at things we're doing well things we need to improve on things that maybe are close results haven't necessarily come but we need to stick to stick with it and um hope really excited to see what what our guys do coming out of the bye going forward uh as far as yeah he's you know he's on our practice squad he's doing great and you know we'll deem that kind of week in and week out based upon uh whether we elevate him or not and and get him going but he's been you know can't say enough about how he's been since we brought him in and he was ready to go in New Orleans if we uh if we needed him and I know that's going to be the case moving forward but uh he's just learning the offense learning our version of of kind of our offense paired with what he knew from back in 2021 and uh you know he's been all in it's been awesome having him here uh yeah Jordan Jordan's good to go yeah Jordan will be Jordan will practice full sorry about that yeah he'll be uh I meant to mention Jordan he'll be uh uh he should be you know working through the week I don't know if It'll be a full workload today, depending on, you know, as we get him back on the grass, but full padded practice and expecting him to be out there working towards a full week and then see if we got him on Sunday. Expecting to have him. What's your process when you talk about a little sluggish coming What's your process of kind of level Well, it goes into, you know, how we went about the bye We brought the guys in post-New Orleans on Monday, moved them around a little bit, got some soreness out from the game, and then kind of set the stage for them to get some time off for us to work as coaches. But coming back in the building, you know, it helps being 5-0, but that doesn't guarantee us, you know, great execution or energy or anything more than we know our fans are going to be phenomenal on Sunday. We know it's going to be an electric atmosphere. We've got to do our part, and we've got to do our part and match the play style and some of the principles that have led us to being 5-0, but we've got to match that with continued progression of our execution, specifically on offense, and just seeing the consistency we've seen on defense and in the kicking game as we continue to kind of progress towards what's hopefully the best version of our team when it matters the most. But the week started out great since getting the guys back in on Monday for meetings and obviously expecting a lot of energy at practice today. Yeah, I think there's so many layers to what makes Hatt a great coach. I think his background as a player and the fact that a lot of the guys in that room know that he did a lot of those same jobs he's asking of them. He's got that nickname for a reason because of how he played, and they know that. But it's his connection with those guys. It's the way he runs meetings. It's the energy that I always love getting to those meetings, whether it's throughout the week the night before the game just because you know you just feel it you feel the kind of the family within our family of our team that's meant so much and and I just it's it's been awesome to see some of those young players under his guidance as well as the offense and defensive coaches guidance develop grow and now they're playing with such confidence and that's a whole bunch of people obviously Miles Price touching the football and and being so visible of his impact on our team, but it's a bunch of other guys that I could rattle off about 10, 12 names that are changing the game in that phase, and we're winning field position. We're taking it back if we've lost it. These guys are making game-changing plays at least once or twice in every game we've played that have been major factors in us winning. You know, other than just making sure he knows he's got, you know, he does such a great job communicating with me anything that's in the game plan, any challenges. I talk a lot and know what it takes meeting every week about that phase and that all comes from him and his studying of our opponents and knowing our own personnel but we try to give him a voice whether it's the off seasons with with roster evals personnel meetings how we as we get down towards the cut down those are always really significant conversations that he's a major driving force in because you know that's you know what ultimately those last few guys on the roster making your team have to have a big impact in that phase. But even week to week, you know, just, you know, I always meet with him one on one on what it's going to look like from a standpoint of the 48. And, you know, after talking to Nolan and Flo and Wes about how we see, you know, the team in general, I think that's a big part of it is making sure we maintain even through the injuries on offense, we were still trying to maintain a very strong unit in the kicking game. And it's been huge for us. Yeah, I got, you know, obviously some great information from our you know our analytics department you know anything that you know I asked for from a standpoint of hey can you guys take a look at this it was almost immediate some some great information for all three of our phases on our team but just in general just that check-in it's it didn't seem as maybe significant just because our daily communication has been so good you know every single day him and I are finding time together And it starts with kind of the roster plan for the week and his ideas and his thoughts on how he wants to navigate the 53 and the practice squad. And then ultimately, you know, it's so collaborative in regards to the 48 that, you know, I'm really leaning on him for his expertise and understanding what our team needs every single week. And we've needed some unique things, you know, throughout the first five games just because of the injuries. But I think the depth of our team and kind of that process that we have amongst coaches and Nolan being a big part of it has been a big factor in us being able to play well on Sundays. Specifically, how does that apply to you? Yeah, I mean, you know, you kind of knew it early on in training camp that he was going to be a really good special teams player. We were putting a lot on him defensively at the time, playing multiple spots. So maybe there wasn't like the absolute certainty that I think he's acquired over the early part of the season and he understands the speed of the game in that phase it's a space you know nine times out of ten those are space plays where he should be at an advantage because as athletic and as good of a mover as he is the game can start to slow down for you and I think we saw that you know even on the punch out how surgical that was full speed play and he's able to make direct contact on the football and really ignite us in the second half of a game we were trailing in and ultimately went on to win. But, you know, I think you're seeing so many of the principles that make him a really intriguing, good, young defensive player. Maybe because of, you know, how healthy we've been on offense or on defense, we haven't been able to really see the impact yet. But all of these snaps are contributing to him hopefully having confidence when he does get in there a little more on defense as the season goes on and hopefully continues to rise to being a guy I think our opponents are talking about. I think they're, you know, we call them red dots, the guys that are truly impactful in the kicking game that you've got to know where they are and account for them, and I think he's really, you know, becoming one of those players. Two more for Coach. I think it's always been there. You know, as a position coach, as a quarterback coach, you maybe don't, you know, during special teams meetings, you're having quarterback meetings. During practice, during special teams, you're doing individual for the quarterback. So you really don't get a really great handle on it until you get to the games and you see how impactful, you know, all of these plays are. And then you get to the coordinator level and you're kind of a part of those game day conversations, what the roster looks like. And you're normally the guy fighting for the least amount of special teams players possible so that you can have as many offensive players possible on the field. But I do think, you know, over time, even in this role, you know, I just, you get what you emphasize with these players and I'm talking a lot to them about the kicking game phase being one we expect to win every week and that's not you know that's not a slight on anybody else it's just the confidence we have in the group that we put out there and Matt and Chili and how they put together the plans every week having what I believe to be the best kicker in the league a good young punter and and clearly the best long snapper in the league so you know we expect to do well in that phase but you have to emphasize it and you have to make that part of how you plan for game day it's been something I've been really proud of this year. Kevin some writers have done content about trades. I was curious about your conversations with Nolan when it comes to the trade deadline and how you approach those discussions for the first time. Yeah, I think it's talking about maybe some positions where there could be some, not only good players available, but maybe some value there as well. I know he's really excited about where we're at as a team right now, but if there's a chance for us to get better, if there's a chance for us to improve our team, You know, we're going to have those conversations we have and we will continue to as that deadline kind of approaches. But at the same time, I think it's important that I got a lot of confidence in this team right now. And I also have a lot of confidence in Nolan, his staff. You know, I know it seems like it's months and months and so many months away. But to give him a, you know, a real powerful draft to be able to really put his imprint on this team, I think is important, too. So we're going to have to really gauge what's best for our team in the present in the present day. And that's with a lot of confidence in our group. But also, you know, it feels crazy to say this as the coach. I want to make sure that we're as smart as possible just because I have so much confidence in what that group and Nolan specifically are going to be able to do when it comes time to add to our team in the offseason. Thanks, guys.