Vikings players to skip voluntary workouts

On Monday, players for the Minnesota Vikings joined many of their counterparts around the league, declaring that the team would skip voluntary workouts scheduled for next month in light of the COVID-19 situation.

The Vikings’ players released a statement through the NFLPA.

The statement reads as follows:

We have come together as a team and many of us have decided to exercise our right to not attend in-person, voluntary workouts. Given the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and the inadequate safety procedures recommended by the NFL, this is the safest path forward for us and our families. This decision was also informed by the dramatic drop in injuries we saw during the 2020 season.

We are committed as team to holding each other accountable to ensure everyone is working out and participating in the virtual off-season. We understand that some players will go into the facility for different reasons, but feel strongly as a unit about putting our overall health and safety first.

Several members of the Vikings have workout bonuses included in their contracts, including star safety Harrison Smith, whose workout bonus comes in at $400,000, according to sources. Other members of the team have workout bonuses in the $100,000 range.

I’m not 100% sure where the “dramatic drop in injuries” part comes from. . .it certainly isn’t something that applies to the Vikings, given the number of key players they had miss significant parts of last season due to injuries. This statement is quite similar to the statements that other teams have put out over the past few days.

The only mandatory workouts before Training Camp gets underway in late July is a June mini-camp, and as we mentioned the other day, the NFLPA is going to be pushing for that to be done virtually as well.