Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell requested Browns’ DC Jim Schwartz to ‘tone down’ the aggressiveness fearing injuries

The Minnesota Vikings have an injury crisis in hand to deal with, as the regular season approaches.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell requested Browns’ DC Jim Schwartz to ‘tone down’ the aggressiveness fearing injuries

Kevin O'Connell and Jim Schwartz (Images via AP)

The Minnesota Vikings face a distressful challenge before the commencement of the regular season. Following the injury of rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy after the first pre-season game against the Raiders, the team finds yet another rookie forced to be pushed to the sidelines.

Rookie wide receiver Thayer Thomas was injured during the team’s joint practice with the Cleveland Browns. Alongside Thomas, Jordan Addison was carted off the field later. These injuries compelled head coach Kevin O’Connell to approach the Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

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O’Connell had a special request for Schwartz. He had to tell his peer to “Tone down the physicality,” so that he does not lose more players to injuries before the commencement of the regular season. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis and Mark Craig reported that the Vikings HC was “not happy with the physicality” being displayed by the competition.

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The Minnesota Vikings lost rookie QB JJ McCarthy to a season-ending meniscus tear

The Vikings-Browns joint practice should be concerning for fans of the former team and exciting for the fans of the latter. Jim Schwartz appears to have changed the defensive mindset within the Browns organization. His players went hard on every snap and they dominated. To watch his offense take such a beating and crumble similar to a house of cards must have been frustrating for Kevin O’Connell.

Kevin O'Connell
Kevin O’Connell’s primary concern headed into the season is to ensure his starters remain healthy. (Image via Screengrab on YouTube)

Browns reporter Nick Karns believes this was one of the reasons that prompted O’Connell to talk with Schwartz. Both teams have two more joint practices scheduled this week ahead of their preseason game on Saturday, the 17th of August. This season, the fights between teams at joint practices have gotten a bit out of hand compared to the past. In the first week of joint practices this season, Rondale Moore of the Falcons was carted off with a season-ending knee injury and the New York Giants and Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 respectively for multiple fights.

The Vikings have gotten off to a rocky start to the pre-season. The primary challenge for the team is to keep the players healthy. Apart from McCarthy’s injury, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon’s season ended because of an ACL injury at the start of training camp, while Jordan Addison’s injury is not serious, there is no clarity with respect to Thayer Thomas’ situation yet.

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