{"id":893474,"date":"2026-05-17T06:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/893474\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T06:33:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:33:30","slug":"vikings-rumor-mill-update-the-camp-battle-cooper-rush-jauan-jennings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/893474\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Rumor Mill Update: The Camp Battle, Cooper Rush, Jauan Jennings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every weekend, VikingsTerritory publishes two batches of Minnesota Vikings-themed rumors<\/a>, the latest fodder from the week regarding the purple team\u2019s what-ifs. Consider this the post-schedule-release edition.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s post-schedule rumor cycle has begun.<\/p>\n

For Sunday, we take a look at the Vikings\u2019 big camp battle, Cooper Rush<\/a> showing up in Eagan, and the free agency competition for Jauan Jennings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Three Vikings Storylines Begin Moving toward Training Camp<\/p>\n

The Purple Rumor Mill for May 17th, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell greets quarterback J.J. McCarthy after a first-quarter touchdown on Nov. 2, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The sideline interaction highlighted Minnesota\u2019s continued investment in McCarthy\u2019s development as O\u2019Connell worked through the growing pains of guiding the young quarterback during a difficult but important stage of his early NFL career. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Rumor: Kyler Murray<\/a> and J.J. McCarthy indeed will duke it out for QB1 in July and August. <\/p>\n

Vikings training camp will have drama. NFL.com\u2019s Grant Gordon\u00a0wrote last weekend, \u201cIf it was assumed that Kyler Murray was going to be handed the Minnesota Vikings\u2019 starting quarterback reins following two ill-fated years for J.J. McCarthy, that won\u2019t be the case. Minnesota will host a good, old fashioned quarterback battle between McCarthy and Murray this offseason, according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMcCarthy\u2019s struggled in his two years in the NFL since the Vikings chose him 10th overall in an already celebrated\u00a02024 NFL Draft. Some of his struggles have been self-inflicted (12 interceptions in 10 games), while others have been the result of injuries, as he missed all of his rookie campaign with a knee injury and dealt with multiple injuries in his sophomore season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pelissero personally said<\/a>, \u201cThey envision it being a true competition: Kyler Murray versus J.J. McCarthy. And both these guys are going to go into this believing they\u2019re gonna win this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, frankly, how friendly that quarterback room is going to be. It\u2019s going to be a very competitive quarterback room. From everything that I\u2019ve understood, it is truly wide open; they\u2019re keeping an open mind as a coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sets the stage for a true-blue Murray v. McCarthy battle<\/a> if one assumes the NFL.com boys are telling the truth.<\/p>\n

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Rumor: The Vikings now have veteran passer Cooper Rush on speed dial. <\/p>\n

No contract came to fruition, but Rush is on the Vikings\u2019 radar.\u00a0NBC Sports\u2018\u00a0Mike Florio wrote this week, \u201cRookie minicamps routinely include more than rookies. In Minnesota<\/a>, veteran quarterback Cooper Rush will participate on a tryout basis. The team has announced 57 attendees for the weekend session. Of that number, 23 have been invited to the weekend practices on a tryout basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRush, 32, has played in 42 regular-season games with 16 starts. He has a 9-7 record. The Ravens cut him earlier this year, after making Tyler Huntley<\/a> the primary backup to\u00a0Lamar Jackson<\/a>. Before that, Rush spent seven seasons with the Cowboys, starting eight games in 2024 and five in 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CooperBaltimore Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush warms up before a home matchup against the Chicago Bears<\/a> on Oct. 26, 2025, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Rush prepared for another opportunity within the Ravens<\/a> quarterback room as Baltimore continued navigating the second half of the regular season in pursuit of AFC playoff positioning. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Head coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell<\/a> said\u00a0about Rush\u2019s unexpected presence, \u201cAs I told Cooper, it\u2019s almost like a free agent visit. He gets to know us, we get to know him. He\u2019s played a lot of football over the years in the National Football League.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it can open up that world to him, or if there\u2019s an opportunity in the future, he can make that a really positive situation for himself and become our first phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n

The simplest way to think of this? If injuries rock Murray, McCarthy, and Carson Wentz<\/a>, Rush will probably be the first guy the Vikings call or the first guy they steal off some team\u2019s practice squad.<\/p>\n

Rumor: Multiple teams wanted Jauan Jennings from free agency. <\/p>\n

Adam Schefter explained that Minnesota has genuine competition for Jennings this week.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0told Pat McAfee<\/a>, \u201cI was told that there were a few other teams. I think it was the Dolphins, the Commanders<\/a>. There was somebody else that was interested. The Vikings were the only team he wound up visiting at all. The Chiefs and Commanders also were interested in Jauan Jennings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cUltimately, he got a one-year deal from Minnesota worth up to $13 million; it\u2019s about $8 million in base pay. Ideally, you want to get these deals done early in free agency, but Jennings was able to salvage a pretty good situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota is an ideal situation for Jennings. O\u2019Connell\u2019s pass-heavy offense frequently utilizes three-receiver sets, placing Jennings alongside Justin Jefferson<\/a> and Jordan Addison<\/a>. With coverage often tilted toward the star wideouts, Jennings will inevitably find himself isolated. His physicality and reliability position him perfectly to capitalize on these opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"JauanSan Francisco 49ers<\/a> wide receiver Jauan Jennings celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans<\/a> on Dec. 14, 2025, at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Jennings helped spark the 49ers\u2019 offense early in the game, continuing his role as one of San Francisco<\/a>\u2019s most dependable physical targets near the goal line during the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Stylistically, the fit is equally compelling. In San Francisco, Jennings established himself as a rugged blocker and reliable chain-mover. With the Vikings, however, he\u2019s expected to see significantly more targets than he typically did with the 49ers. O\u2019Connell won\u2019t relegate him to a hidden role.<\/p>\n

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Too, should Jefferson or Addison miss time, Jennings could quickly transition from a complementary weapon to a borderline WR1. At this point in his career, the landing spot could hardly be more perfect. And the Vikings evidently got lucky that he didn\u2019t land in Kansas City<\/a>, Miami<\/a>, or Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every weekend, VikingsTerritory publishes two batches of Minnesota Vikings-themed rumors, the latest fodder from the week regarding the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[1763,391,427,5898,7,1519,10117,8265,2780,118,6192,4827,895,9737,216,233,259,2529,6,126,169,1161,252,394,1762,234],"class_list":["post-893474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-carson-wentz","tag-chicago-bears","tag-commanders","tag-cooper-rush","tag-football","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-jauan-jennings","tag-jordan-addison","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-kansas-city","tag-kevin-oconnell","tag-kyler-murray","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-miami","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-network","tag-ravens","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tyler-huntley","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116588524816789993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}