In an afternoon when the Vikings were already thinned at a major position — quarterback — the team's No. 3 left tackle stepped into the starting lineup as well.
Third-year lineman Oli Udoh, who has been rotating at right guard with the first-team offense during training camp, moved to left tackle on Monday afternoon when rookie Christian Darrisaw (groin) and Rashod Hill (undisclosed) were held out of 11-on-11 drills.
Hill had a helmet and went through individual lineman drills, but sat out all team work. This opened the door for Udoh, the former right tackle at Elon, to move to the blindside for a day. Coaches have praised Udoh's offseason so far as he's been competing for the opening at right guard along with Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia.
"He's a really good athlete, and he's big, has got extremely long arms, has got some physicality to him," coach Mike Zimmer said recently. "Hopefully he keeps progressing so we'll have a battle in there [at right guard] with Samia and Dozier and those guys. So we're just trying to find the five best however we can find them."
- Four offensive linemen were among the Vikings players limited or held out of Monday's practice. Darrisaw (groin), guard Wyatt Davis (undisclosed), center Cohl Cabral (undisclosed) and tight end Tyler Conklin (ankle) did not practice. Hill (undisclosed), receiver Dede Westbrook (knee) and nose tackle Michael Pierce (calf) were limited. Cornerback Jeff Gladney also did not practice as he awaits the decision of a Texas grand jury on a domestic violence charge.
- Quarterback Jake Browning had another busy practice, throwing every pass during full-team drills while quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list. New quarterback Case Cookus, who worked out Monday morning before signing, only handed the ball off as he was just given a playbook.
- Safety Harrison Smith got his hands on a couple Browning passes, including an interception on a pass over the middle that was first tipped by cornerback Cameron Dantzler. Smith later jumped a route by rookie receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette to deflect another Browning pass.
- A modest crowd dotting the bleacher seats at TCO Performance Center applauded a few Browning throws, including a diving touchdown catch by receiver Adam Thielen in the back of the end zone to wrap a red-zone period. Second-year receiver Dan Chisena caught another Browning touchdown in team drills on a deep ball over the middle.
- Cornerback Bashaud Breeland is slowly returning from offseason shoulder surgery. For the third straight practice, the veteran defender participated in 11-on-11 drills while rotating at outside cornerback. He's expected to compete for a starting job. "They're getting me acclimated," Breeland said. "Trainers doing a good job of working me in, doing the proper things to build strength to get out there and get going."
- The daily situation drill stalled without a score after a series of short-yardage handoffs. The situation had the offense trailing 17-16 with 3:02 left to play from around their own 40-yard line. Browning opened with a 7-yard completion to tight end Irv Smith Jr. After a handoff, Browning uncorked a deep, underthrown ball to receiver Justin Jefferson, who made an incredible adjustment to come back for the catch and touchdown. But the play was called dead by Zimmer, apparently due to the pass rush that would've led to a sack.
