Zulgad's Vikings observations: Will Sam Darnold thrive or fail and will Jordan Addison be ready for Week 1?

Training camp is over, there is one preseason game remaining and roster cuts will be made on Tuesday. That means there are plenty of observations to be made.

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Training camp is over.

The Minnesota Vikings held a situational scrimmage on a rainy Thursday afternoon at TCO Performance Center and will complete the preseason Saturday in Philadelphia.

Don’t expect to see any regulars play against the Eagles. They got plenty of work on Thursday and will turn their attention to the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Saturday’s game will provide some guys on the bubble a last chance to make an impression before the roster has to be cut from 90 to 53 by 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Jaren Hall will get the start at quarterback and likely will be followed by newcomer Matt Corral at some point.

Here are a few observations and thoughts to close the training camp portion of things.

• I’ll write more about this in the coming days, but easily the biggest X factor for the 2024 Vikings will be quarterback Sam Darnold. Especially with first-round pick J.J. McCarthy out for the season. Darnold has had well-documented struggles since being the third-overall pick in 2018 by the New York Jets. Getting a chance to watch Darnold throughout camp, there were times when he looked good. He threw a nice deep ball from the first day of camp, and his chemistry with wide receiver Justin Jefferson went from shaky to solid. However, there were days when Darnold’s ability to handle pressure — remember, he wears a red jersey, so he can’t be hit in practice — seemed questionable at best. So what will he look like in games?

• Expect wide receiver Jordan Addison (ankle) to be listed on the first injury report when it’s submitted on Sept. 4. The Vikings have said that Addison avoided serious injury when he had to be carted off the field last week during a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns. Addison hasn’t practiced since and almost certainly won’t take part in any football-related activities until preparation for the Giants commences. If Addison is held out in Week 1, the Vikings top three receivers will be Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor and Brandon Powell.

• Coordinator Brian Flores’ defense was moving at its usual fast pace on Thursday, keeping the offense off balance. One thing that will be interesting to see is which cornerbacks the Vikings use when there are only two on the field. The recently signed Stephon Gilmore appears to be a lock, but will veteran free agent addition Shaq Griffin be opposite him, or will it be Byron Murphy Jr.? Murphy will play inside when Flores uses three corners.

• In a recent roster prediction column, I had the Vikings keeping Hall on the 53. Hall almost certainly would have been cut had McCarthy not been injured, and there remains a possibility that the 2023 fifth-rounder could be jettisoned next Tuesday and then signed to the practice squad. That would enable him to remain an option for emergency QB duties on game day; the risk would be having him claimed off waivers. Corral is a complete unknown and new to the system. Hall’s familiarity with O’Connell’s offense gives him value as the backup to Darnold and Nick Mullens.

• Tight end T.J. Hockenson spent camp working with the Vikings’ athletic training staff on a side field as he rehabs from a torn ACL and MCL suffered late last season against the Detroit Lions. Hockenson looks to be in great shape and moving pretty well, but the Vikings are going to be careful. Look for Hockenson to be placed on injured reserve next Tuesday with a designation to return. That would mean he has to miss at least four games and the earliest he could come back would be Oct. 6 against the Jets in London. The Vikings could take advantage of a bye week following the Jets game and wait to play Hockenson until Week 7 (Oct. 20) against the Lions.

• Will Reichard had a rare off day on Thursday, at least initially. Kicking on the wet grass at TCO, the sixth-round pick missed wide right on two of his first three field-goal attempts. Reichard made up for that by going 3-for-3 in a later period, including a make that appeared to be from 50-plus yards.

• The Vikings added former University of Minnesota running back Mo Ibrahim on Thursday. Aaron Jones, who hasn’t played all preseason, and Ty Chandler almost certainly won’t play Saturday and it will be interesting to see if Kene Nwangwu gets any time. Nwangwu has had a solid camp and is a lock to make the roster. The concern with him has been his injury history, so Nwangwu also could be held out. That makes Ibrahim likely to see plenty of playing time. He isn’t going to make the 53, but could be a candidate for the practice squad.

• It will be interesting to see if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah tries to make any trades before cuts are announced on Tuesday. The Vikings would love to add a draft pick or two because right now they only have three for 2025, including their first-rounder. Safety Lewis Cine was clearly being showcased last Saturday against the Browns and should get plenty of snaps against the Eagles. Speculating on other players Adofo-Mensah might try to move: Linebacker Brian Asamoah, a third-round pick in 2022 and/or pass rusher Pat Jones II, a third-round pick in 2021.