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Revealed: Vikings’ Preseason Plan for Starters vs Ravens The Minnesota Vikings will play their second of three 2026 preseason games on Saturday, against the Baltimore Ravens. This weekend’s exhibition game will go down following joint practices between the two teams on Wednesday and Thursday, at TCO Performance Center. It’s the only joint practice sessions that the Vikings have scheduled for this preseason, which makes sense since it’s their only home game on this year’s exhibition slate. The Vikings like to host joint practices out in Eagan, where they have full control of the circumstances. As Vikings fans have learned over the years, head coach Kevin O’Connell prefers to use joint practices as the main building block toward preparing for the NFL regular season, as opposed to preseason games. Minnesota Vikings plan for starters vs Ravens These joint sessions allow Vikings players to ramp up and go (near) full speed in drills and game simulations. But unlike preseason games, O’Connell and opposing coaches still have control of their surroundings and the competitive atmosphere on the TCO practice fields. That’s why reports over the last 24 hours that starting quarterback Kyler Murray will not play on Saturday, in the Vikings’ only home preseason game, is no surprise. Still, it means fans at U.S. Bank Stadium will have to wait a few more weeks before they watch Kyler Murray run around his new home turf in downtown Minneapolis. “How [Brosmer] comes through this week will be interesting because I think they would give him a fair amount of run… especially when I would not expect [Kyler] Murray to play. It does change the breakdown of who plays how much on Saturday, if Murray’s not out there and Brosmer’s possibly reduced.” Ben Goessling – KFAN Radio Related: Brian Flores Has Mystery “Smoking Gun” Evidence Against NFL Honestly, it was a bit surprising to see the Minnesota Vikings play so many starters in week one of the 2026 preseason, which was pretty much everyone who was healthy and not named Justin Jefferson. Most Vikings starters will sit out Saturday’s preseason game Even Christian Darrisaw ran with the starting offensive line in their first drive last weekend, as that group continues to gain rapport with Kyler Murray. But this week, out in Eagan, is where O’Connell plans to get the most work out of his starters on both sides of the ball. Not only will Kyler Murray sit Saturday’s preseason game, but so will most of Minnesota’s first team, according to local insider Charley Walters on his “Don’t Print That” Substack. The primary reason for the Vikings joint scrimmages against the Ravens on Wednesday and Thursday in Eagan is so the Vikings don’t have to play their starters much in the pregame against the Ravens on Saturday in Minneapolis. Generally for these scrimmages, coaches from both teams meet ahead of time to discuss what they intend to work on to lessen the risk of injuries that could occur in preseason games. Starters are expected to get a lot of work in these scrimmages, with backup players getting more time in Saturday’s game. Charley Walters – Don’t Print That (Substack) Related: “Naturally,” JJ McCarthy Wants Out of MN ASAP, Reports Insider More About:Minnesota Vikings