The Minnesota Vikings are gearing up for their second preseason contest, which will take place against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday afternoon. After beating the New York Giants 13-10 last week in their opener, the Vikings will be looking to carry over the positive momentum and pick up another victory.
All eyes have been on the offense throughout training camp, which is now being led by veteran quarterback Kyler Murray. Going up against a tough Ravens defense in practice earlier this week provided this unit with a new challenge as it continues to get used to playing together, but according to tight end T.J. Hockenson, it sounds like things are coming along nicely.
T.J. Hockenson Gets Real on Vikings’ Kyler Murray-Led Offense
The Vikings scooped up Murray on a one-year, $1.3 million contract in free agency over the offseason to come in and compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. It always seemed like Murray had the inside track to be the Week 1 starter, though, and it ultimately wasn’t much of a surprise to see him beat out McCarthy for the job earlier this month.
Now that he has been crowned the team’s starter, Murray is going to have his work cut out for him when it comes to taking full control of the offense. The good news is that, not only does he have a quarterback guru in Kevin O’Connell as his head coach, but he also has a plethora of talent working around him on offense.
Part of that group is Hockenson, a two-time Pro Bowler who has become one of the more consistent pass-catchers at his position since entering the league back in 2019. Hockenson knows that it’s going to take a while for everyone to get on the same page, but he thinks getting work in against the Ravens during the two teams’ joint practices earlier this week was huge for this unit.
“I think it makes you closer. Being able to talk through things that we haven’t gotten with our defense … it kind of makes you closer,” Hockenson admitted. “It’s really just communication, seeing what he’s seeing, understanding that and applying it. That’s really all we’re doing in camp is trying to communicate and be as on the same page with him as receivers that we can, and those are great conversations to have, especially when you go against a different defense.”
Vikings to Rest Starters vs. Ravens in Preseason Clash
GettyEAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 15: Kyler Murray #1 of the Minnesota Vikings looks down the field after a pass during a preseason game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on August 15, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Minnesota briefly got its starters some work in its preseason contest against New York last week, but after battling Baltimore for two days at practice, it is going to rest its starters for this game. Keeping these guys fresh is key, and based on Hockenson’s comments, it sounds like this group already got quite a bit of good work in this week.
That means McCarthy will get a shot to put together some good tape against Baltimore, as the coaching staff will work on evaluating the depth of the roster. With the starters sitting out this game, though, expect them to get some serious work in during their preseason finale against the Denver Broncos next week.
Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson Sends Strong Kyler Murray Message Before Ravens Game