Jordan Addison is on the shelf for Minnesota Vikings training camp, but head coach Kevin O’Connell says it’s nothing serious. O’Connell told reporters Wednesday that the receiver jammed his thumb during a routes-on-air session earlier in the week.
“He had a little thumb, just kind of jammed it in the routes on air the other day,” O’Connell said, via the team’s official website. “We had it checked out. All the imaging and everything came back clean. It’s just a little sore, and we want to let him put this thing behind him in the next day or two, but nothing to be concerned about.”
Addison sat out Wednesday’s session and won’t practice for the next day or two, but the imaging results rule out any structural damage. The Vikings had Thursday off before returning for a highly anticipated night practice over the weekend.
Timing Stings for a QB Competition in Flux
The injury lands at an awkward moment. Minnesota is running a genuine quarterback competition this summer between second-year passer J.J. McCarthy and veteran Kyler Murray, who signed a one-year deal after his release from Arizona in March. Every rep with the No. 1 receiver matters when two quarterbacks are trying to build chemistry with a new group of targets, and Addison will spend the next few days watching from the sideline instead.
It’s a small setback in what’s otherwise been a clean camp for Minnesota on the injury front. The team has largely avoided the kind of significant camp injuries that derail a season before it starts.
Addison Looking to Rebound From a Rough 2025
Addison enters his fourth season needing a bounce-back year. He served a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy last season, then finished with career lows across the board — 42 catches, 610 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games, well off his career averages of roughly 65 catches, 885 yards and eight scores per season.
Some of that decline traces back to quarterback play. McCarthy struggled as a rookie starter, ranking near the bottom of the league in passing efficiency, and Minnesota’s front office brought in Murray specifically to fix that problem. If either quarterback wins the job and produces, Addison’s numbers figure to climb with them.
| Season Stat | 2025 (Career Low) | Career Average |
|---|---|---|
| Receptions | 42 | ~65 |
| Receiving Yards | 610 | ~885 |
| Touchdowns | 3 | ~8 |
What’s Next for Addison and the Vikings
Addison is entering the third year of his rookie contract, selected 23rd overall in the 2023 draft. Minnesota already exercised his fifth-year option, buying two more years of team control before he can reach unrestricted free agency. A strong 2026 season, especially one built around a more stable quarterback situation, would strengthen his case for a long-term extension.
The Vikings open the regular season at home against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, September 13, a rematch of the two teams’ regular-season finale last January, which Minnesota won 16-3 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
