Inside The Vikings

Vikings Tackle Brian O'Neill is Getting Closer and Closer to a Full Return

O'Neill is continuing to ramp up his participation as he nears full recovery from last year's Achilles tear.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Tackle Brian O'Neill is Getting Closer and Closer to a Full Return
Vikings Tackle Brian O'Neill is Getting Closer and Closer to a Full Return

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Minnesota Vikings

Vikings right tackle Brian O'Neill is getting closer and closer to a full return from the Achilles injury he suffered in Green Bay a little over eight months ago. During Sunday's practice, O'Neill participated in team periods for the first time this training camp.

"I was excited, real excited," O'Neill told reporters after practice. "I'm just trying to follow the plan they got for me. It's time to shake off some rust. We're right on schedule, (trainers) are doing a great job. We're not there yet, but we will be."

O'Neill will presumably get some work during this week's joint practices against the Titans. The Cardinals will be in town next week for two more joint practices, and then preparation for the regular season opener against the Buccaneers on September 10th will kick into high gear. All offseason, the Vikings have brought O'Neill along slowly with a clear-cut plan to get him ready for Week 1.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips liked what he saw from O'Neill's return to padded 11-on-11 action.

"It was great to see Brian out there," Phillips said on Monday. "He looked really good yesterday. Credit to Tyler (Williams) and his team and then Brian himself for the work he's put in with that type of injury. He looked athletic, he was even doing some things that he had worked on somehow, without having an Achilles over this offseason — some of the things with his punch and his sets, where actually we were saying 'Wow, that looks even better than what we saw before.'"

"I know he's been really hungry to get out there," Phillips added. "He's obviously one of our leaders, one of our captain players on this team, so it was great to see."

O'Neill, who turns 28 next month, is entering his sixth NFL season. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2021 and is among the game's highest-paid right tackles.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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