Bobby McCain epitomizes the virtue of selflessness.
McCain has been a focal point of the Vikings scout defense this season, his first in Minnesota. He also played 37 defensive snaps and was credited with four tackles in the team's win at Seattle on Dec. 22.
His strong performance was significant, but never in doubt.
"There was no question," said 13-year veteran Harrison Smith. "It's what he's always done, his whole career. So, yeah, it's quite a luxury to have a guy like that who's not only a good player, but a leader."
A guy like that who's not only a good player, but a leader. … On the practice squad!
McCain is one of 17 players on the P-squad, which the NFL initially expanded from 10 to 16 in the COVID-19 pandemic and then allowed a 17th qualifying international player on teams starting in 2024.
In 1993, the limit was five; in 2004 it grew to eight; in 2014 it became 10. In 2022 there was a key modification – clubs were permitted to roster up to six veteran players, with two or more accrued seasons, on their practice squad. Enter McCain, who made 87 starts across his first nine NFL seasons.
He's scored a pick six, ledgered a four-interception campaign, logged more than 1,000 snaps in a season and even started 23 games for Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores when they were in Miami.
Now, his role has shifted to the background, excluding rare instances, and yet it's enhanced the team.
McCain's wealth of experience and savviness as a communicator has resulted in valuable exchanges with Head Coach Kevin O'Connell since he arrived at the end of July. He provides an extra set of eyes.
"When we go through walk-throughs, we go through practice, he'll ask me questions because he knows I've seen a lot of ball," McCain said. "He'll ask me, 'Hey, what'd you think there?' or 'Where should we put a guy: Here? Over the top? Underneath?' Small things that'll help the offense convert on third and fourth downs, and even big plays, like, just sometimes we draw things up and he asks me, 'Whatchu think?' and I'll be like 'Ahh maybe,' and then, 'No' or 'Yes.' I'm just trying to be a helping hand, man."
The longest-tenured Viking, and a shoo-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, understands.
"It's not surprising," Smith stated. "I ask him questions all the time in our meetings – how he sees stuff, and maybe how we could play something. He's helped me a ton, just being another guy who's done it and knows what it's like, and how you can make things a little easier on yourself and for other people."
McCain and the rest of the practice squad, plus several players from the 53-man are tasked each week with doing work that's unseen by everyone except Vikings personnel – and do it with a badge of honor.
"People don't understand that they're players, too. There's a lot of good players all around this league, whether it's practice squad, 53 or scout team," McCain commented. "Regardless how it comes, this is a hard league to get in and stay in, so you've got to pay a lot of respect, a lot of homage to those guys."
Flores is a proponent of the development dynamics that regularly occur between his unit and the scout offense – dialogue about techniques and fundamentals – and their overarching impact on game execution: "There's nothing more important than practice. We talk about that all the time," he said.
"Those guys sharpen you, help you hone in your skills week-in-and-week-out. So with that, we always try to make sure that those look guys are at a premium," Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels shared, divulging his message to them, a collectively adopted standard. " 'Allow me to be the guy to tell you that you need to chill out because you're going too hard.' I don't ever want it to be the opposite way."
Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips showered the scout defense with praise when asked about the group in late December.
"I've told some of the guys on that side of the ball, that, 'I've been in the league for a good while now, and this has been the best look-team group that I've been a part of since I've been in the league.'"
"I've been around guys in the past that aren't that interested in giving looks. Whether they're a special teams guy, they don't care about defense, or whether they feel like it's below them a little bit – they're above being on the look team," Phillips continued. "But most of the best pros – I saw it really early on when I was first in Dallas; I remember some of the young guys were playing in the preseason, and we had some of our starters giving them looks, and it was the cleanest offensive operation. Guys were up there, they're looking at the card, they got lined up exactly where they're supposed to be, everybody, and it just told me something about how you do things, how you are as a pro. And generally, the guys that do give you great looks are the guys that are in the right spots trying to do things – give you feedback, like Bobby – the guys that when they get opportunities in the game, end up making plays."
Details win championships
Brett Rypien lights a fire in the huddle around 11:30 a.m. on Fridays with a three-word battle cry.
"We'll all say, 'Hey, let's go! DWC! DWC! Details win championships!' " Rypien exclaimed in front of his locker stall at Vikings practice facilities in Eagan. "I said it as a joke at first, and we've taken off with it."
If Rypien rings a bell, it's because you know ball.
His uncle, Mark, was a Pro Bowl QB, played more than 100 games in the NFL and was crowned Super Bowl XXVI Most Valuable Player when Washington, coached by Joe Gibbs, beat Buffalo in Minneapolis.
The younger Rypien, originally an undrafted free agent signing by Denver in 2019 is second to Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore on Boise State's all-time passing charts in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns – he's no slouch. As a professional, Rypien owns a 2-2 starting mark. He shined in the 2024 Hall of Fame Game for Chicago, connecting on 11 of 15 throws for 166 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Minnesota signed him to its 53-man on Aug. 29 after his release by Chicago.
On Tuesday, Rypien was waived by the team to create room for quarterback Daniel Jones on the active roster, factoring Jones, a 2019 top draft choice by the Giants, into the compensatory pick formula evaluation should he sign elsewhere after free agency opens in March.
O'Connell spoke about Rypien on Thursday after he cleared waivers and signed to the practice squad.
"He's exceeded all the expectations here, despite – I know people haven't seen him on the grass doing anything during the regular season, but there's been so much work and time and energy spent from Brett with Grant [Udinski] and Josh [McCown] to continue his progression," O'Connell said. "He's a guy we could rely on here in the future with the type of work he's put in."
Rypien's role is obscure outside of the building, but it's vital to the No. 5 scoring defense.
"They do a great job. Obviously, you've got [some] young guys in there trying to develop and grow. When they get the opportunity to be starters against a complex defense like ours, I think they learn a lot," Pro Bowl outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel imparted. "It definitely helps us prepare, as well."
Minnesota's "Green Dot" Blake Cashman said defensive players view Rypien as an "All-Pro Scout Team quarterback" because of his attention to opponent intricacies and command of shifts and motions.
"Depending on who we're playing we do a lot of prep for no-huddle, and we'll ask Ryp' to play offensive coordinator in addition to quarterback," Vikings assistant inside linebackers coach Thad Bogardus said. "So there may be times, like on a Friday, where he's seen what we're looking for, what we're expecting from the offense and we'll just say to Ryp', 'Hey, man, you've got the next three plays, call it at the line.' "
Bogardus, in unison with defensive quality control coach Lance Bennett, are the primary authors of looks intended to prepare the Vikings defense each week; they draw opponent play cards, run brief meetings with the scout offense and assist with positioning and techniques across several in-depth walkthroughs.
Then, oftentimes, when practice ramps up, Rypien takes reins of the scout offense and puts his flair on it.
One week, he ushered teammates to get set yelling "Double-Double!" That evolved into "In-N-Out!" and then "Burger!" Each is a code word for the scout offense, related to opponent cadences, tricks to try to get the Vikings defense to jump offsides or falsely anticipate the snap count – a way to stay on high alert.
Rypien, who said he feels fortunate to have learned seven different NFL offenses, is appreciative of the trust and freedom that defensive coaches have placed in him to provide accurate and competitive looks.
"We fell into it, I feel like, earlier this year when they were trying to speed up some stuff toward the end of practice and they were showing cards and I was just like, I kind of said, 'Hey get into this,' in a verbiage that our system uses and they realized, 'Wow we can kind of get on the ball and do some of this stuff,' " Rypien detailed, explaining it requires teamwork and strong IQs. "Teams that do get on the ball [quickly] and have no-huddle plays – the nice thing about our system, our offensive system here is we can do a lot of different stuff on the line of scrimmage, so I can translate that language into our on-the-field stuff."
Rypien added: "We have fun with it. But at the same time we know it's a job that means a lot. Especially for these younger practice squad guys, knowing, 'Yeah, you're maybe not in the spot that you want, but you still should take pride in what you do every single day' – and they've taken that mentality to heart."
Toeing a thin line
An 18-week, 17-game regular season grinds up players and spits them out.
Factor in a month of training camp, three exhibition contests, and in the Vikings case a hopefully long playoff run, and it's no wonder bodies wear down, thus underscoring P-squads and overall roster depth.
Having a good scout team "enables you to continue to get better throughout the year and not just be complacent," right tackle and team captain Brian O'Neill shared, pinpointing its two primary purposes.
Chiefly, the offensive and defensive scout teams masquerade as that week's opponent. They'll act, for example, like the Los Angeles Rams' units, providing a preview of techniques and schemes observed on film, then embodied via repetitions. The other half, foundational to longer-term success is competition.
Whether it's McCain keeping his wits and playing well in a pinch, or Levi Drake Rodriguez giving o-linemen his best look and incidentally "pissing them off," the play style in practice is indispensable.
"It makes it a pain in the butt to deal with every day in December and now January, when they're still trying to win and they have fresh legs and they're humming off the ball on a Thursday; it definitely makes it frustrating," O'Neill said. "But then when you're in the game and things feel slow, you appreciate it."
Vikings senior offensive assistant Chris O'Hara, who switches sides to steward the scout defense with several other coaches, noted the greatest week-to-week variance in techniques happens in the trenches.
Against San Francisco in Week 2, Rodriguez, a seventh-round rookie who's maintained his status on the 53-man roster all season, was responsible for imitating Maliek Collins, a nine-year vet that's played in excess of 5,000 defensive snaps. Rodriguez relished the role, studying Collins' mannerisms and moves.
Rodriguez's goal – "making them work, so that Sunday comes easy" – helps him in his pursuits, as well.
"It's not easy; it's not for everybody," he said. "I embrace [the process], love it, and thrive through it."
Naturally, devotion can lead to opportunity.
On the same evening in Seattle that McCain was a principal fill-in, Rodriguez made his debut on defense. In his second game as a pro (he played four snaps on special teams in Week 9), Rodriguez had a timely run-stuff with his back to the goal line and tipped a pass on third down that Cashman nearly intercepted.
Wide receiver Trishton Jackson, a breakout star in the preseason this year, tallying a touchdown in every exhibition contest and 154 yards on nine catches, executes weekly assignments with an owlish mindset.
"It's fun, actually, because you get to go outside the box; you get to grab little tools from [opponents] – it's a respect thing for the game," Jackson described. "[You're] still learning how to play and be yourself, working on your craft, too. Ultimately, it's to get better and help the defense [which makes it] a win-win."
Rookie center Michael Jurgens likened the battles with Minnesota's defense to an intense chess match.
"Guys who've played a long time like H.P. (Harrison Phillips) and Bull' (Jonathan Bullard) know exactly what they need and kind of verbalize it for you, whereas other guys, it's like, 'Let's just play full speed,' " Jurgens said. "That's one of the biggest differences professionally – being able to get good work and get better, and [simulate] good fits, and hands and feet without truly straining to the point where someone's getting hurt. But it's definitely a thin line, and sometimes, when the lines are crossed, there's words."
Since vocal jabs and mind games can be part of opponent strategies, why not take it to the extreme?
In Week 17, cornerback Nahshon Wright wore Jaire Alexander's No. 23 in practice. Wright, who was acquired in the early August trade that sent Andrew Booth, Jr., to the Cowboys, is about 6 inches taller than the Packers cornerback and acted as a good coverage test for Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Wright gave the realest look possible, occasionally Griddy-ing in an effort to mess with Jefferson's head.
In the end, Alexander didn't suit up due to injury. But Addison, Jefferson and Wright got better; the receivers fought Wright's 6-foot-4 frame, and Wright focused on attaching to two great separators.
"When you get to go against arguably the best receiver in the league – I mean arguably the best receiver duo in the league – and a well-oiled machine in our offense, I take it as a chance to just get better," Wright said. "I think, collectively, as a defensive scout team, we embraced it from the start of the season – just wanted to get better and make them better while doing it. So, it's definitely been fun, for sure."
Those instances, or "competes" as Wright calls them, serve as fodder for playmakers on game days.
"At the end of the day, that's what it's about – providing our guys an opportunity to compete at their best on Sunday," O'Hara expressed. "Sometimes that's 'Hey give them a great look,' sometimes it's challenging them, too, like, 'Hey, we've gotta get up in these guys' faces and press them and jam'; they've got to feel it on Thursday because not everything is perfect on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
"I think those guys [understand] that, and we instilled that it's part of their journey," O'Hara added. "It's not the final step for any of them. Some of the [veteran] guys, they've played and now they're back on scout teams, but it's such a long year in this NFL that those guys are going to provide value. Not just on scout teams, but on Sundays. It's been cool to see guys on our scout team go out there and make plays."
'We see you'
Life on scout teams is unglamorous, but this year's players willfully accepted the gravity of it; they've attacked their business with an intentionality that's appreciated by the Vikings ensemble on a daily basis.
"It's one of those things that sometimes rubs people the wrong way, 'cause they might feel some type of way: 'Oh, I deserve to be over there on defense getting an opportunity,' " said Cashman, who spent a solid chunk of his first four seasons on look squads with the Jets and Texans. "But you have to take pride in it. It's an important factor in getting the team ready for Sundays, and ultimately to reach team goals."
It's a long list of Vikings this season that have balanced paramount reps pretending to be someone else, with preparing themselves for a potential call-up: Jalen Redmond's evolution from scout team to multiple-game starter is an excellent template; undrafted rookie Bo Richter has disguised as opponents' top pass-rushers each week and emerged as a standout on Vikings special teams, and fellow UDFA rookie Dwight "Nudie" McGlothern has impersonated lockdown cornerbacks in practice and carried that persona into a small collection of brief but promising appearances. Furthermore, 34-year-old swing tackle David Quessenberry has flanked one side of the scout o-line – and he fearlessly substituted for star left tackle Christian Darrisaw in the Thursday Night Football game at Los Angeles when the latter suffered season-ending ACL and MCL injuries. Also, mainstays on the practice squad, such as Nick Muse and Gabriel Murphy, have earned elevations in certain games and contributed, in varying ways, to wins.
Some of the players still striving for game-day impacts and receiving rave reviews in the shadows are Lucky Jackson, Jeshaun Jones and Thayer Thomas. A trifecta of receivers on the scout team, if you will.
"The culture here and the way the whole team has bought in, that's a huge part of it," Bogardus stated. "That's one of the most important things we do every week, having a group that has bought into, 'Hey we're gonna go out, we're gonna compete and we're gonna do this,' even though it may be tedious.
"It's definitely underappreciated, I would say, globally," Bogardus continued, "but Kevin tries to do a great job singling guys out each week on offense, defense, special teams and making sure they know, 'Hey, we see you. We're seeing what you're doing.' So, again, some of that will never be seen on Sundays. But without those guys prepping us every week, it's hard to go out and [perform]."
Bogardus has helped orchestrate scout teams at every stop in his 14-year coaching career. That journey includes Super Bowl wins with the Rams (2021) and Broncos (2015), and a priceless experience during Peyton Manning's swan song, when the five-time MVP QB was recovering from a late-season foot injury.
"He ended up running the scout team offense for us in Denver," recalled Bogardus, "which, it's a little different when Peyton Manning is the guy calling it out, saying to you, 'They're not gonna do this! They're not gonna try to protect it like that! I would change the protection over there!' and I'm like just, 'We might need to see something, Peyton – like, please?' He's looking at you, 'Nah – this is a bad idea!' "
It's an automatic ego check, and an extraordinary reminder of the bigger picture.
"Just like I said earlier, it's a respect-for-the-game type of thing," Trishton Jackson reinforced. "I know I get a lot of respect from [teammates], because a lot of people, a lot of fans probably wouldn't know who I am; I don't have really like a big buzz of what I do every day, but it really helps the team, and it helps me every day. And [teammates] know me, they know I'm a killer, so when my time comes, I'll show the world. Right now, you know, I'm just working with every opportunity I have."
"It could be unheralded, but it's kind of how you handle it," noted O'Hara, who was one of the coaches O'Connell brought over from L.A. "We're all grateful to be a part of this organization and the National Football League. We come to work with a passion and energy to do our role as part of a bigger plan."
Practice becomes reality
Forty-eight hours before McCain did a mixture of everything at Lumen Field in Week 16 – backpedaling into the deep half, showing blitz off the edge and dropping out, screaming forward to make tackles, etc. – he manned his usual duties on the scout defense, interacting with O'Connell, refining the game plan.
That Saturday, he learned Smith was going to be scratched from the lineup because of his foot. And so, the 31-year-old McCain tapped into his 100-plus games of experience, and didn't blink for even a second.
Young Vikings defensive back Jay Ward, who has predominantly played special teams through Year 2 and is a tweener like McCain in the sense he could theoretically play cornerback but is better suited at safety, conveyed that McCain didn't need to get ready for his moment because of his diehard practice habits.
"He helps slow the game down for us," said Ward, adding McCain has helped him with his film studies. "He treats it like a real game, so we're all on one accord. He makes it as hard as possible for the offense.
"Having him makes a tremendous difference," Ward reiterated. "Just having him back there with the knowledge he [possesses] – he's really calling the play out before the offense runs it, 'Oh, this is a screen! Oh, this is run, run, run!' Seeing where his mindset comes from, it helps the [scout] defense out."
Top to bottom in the organization, McCain's breadth of knowledge is viewed as an asset.
"He's played so much football that he's able to analyze our plays on offense and be like, 'Hey that was hard for me' or 'That'd be better if you guys did this,' or sometimes, 'That one's not gonna work,' " O'Hara said. "We take that feedback because he's seen it a bunch, so that's been awesome as far as our ability to maybe make a tweak or prioritize some things based on how problems present to the defense."
Rypien's input is significant on the other side of the equation, as well.
Before landing in Minnesota, and prior to a five-month stint with the Bears, the 28-year-old passer was an understudy of Aaron Rodgers in New York. Over four months, Rypien dove deep into the Jets offense, coordinated at the time by Nathaniel Hackett (who was Rypien's head coach for a season in Denver) and paid close attention to concepts Rodgers was fond of, looking for an edge to his own game, of course.
Little did Rypien know how it may serve him down the line. Or rather, how it would benefit the Vikings.
In practices the first week of October, Rypien parroted cadences and proclivities he picked up from Rodgers – pre-snap and post-snap; he tried his darndest to emulate the future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Turns out, he managed to give a greater look than anyone could've guessed.
On one snap, Rypien's eyes started inside, capturing a snapshot of the defense – and of Van Ginkel crouched in the B gap, indicating a pass rush – then scanned outward, anticipating his receivers running in-breaking routes. Only, Rypien didn't feel Gink' changing from a rush path to a coverage plan. Uh-oh!
Sound familiar, yet? Van Ginkel kept his weight low, flipped his hips and peeked into Rypien's vision.
"It was a triple-slant play that they really like to get to, especially when [Aaron] sees pressure. We were in an all-out zero [blitz], and I thought I had the middle slant because I knew that there was probably going to be somebody popping out for the number-three slant," Rypien specified. "Gink did a great job kind of hiding in there and then flashed back under the number three to the number two, picked it in practice, and then did the same thing in the game on the same exact play. So it was really cool for me to be like, 'Wow, if Aaron got fooled, it's OK that I got fooled,' you know? That was a cool one for sure.
"Obviously, when you throw a pick in practice it doesn't feel great, but I think you're also having the understanding of how it's going to help the team," Rypien added. "My college coach Bryan Harsin always used to say, 'Know your role and star in it.' … I've got to be ready to play if the worst-case scenario happens. But I have a big role, spending a lot of time with those defensive guys. I try to embrace that."
For Van Ginkel, the outcomes of some practice reps help propel his confidence: "Flo' always says, 'Practice becomes game reality,' so if you're well prepared, you're going to make plays in games," he said.
The 2024 Vikings have made tons – but you knew that. What you may not have realized was …
It's thanks in part to their behind-the-scenes stars, an unselfish coalition of players and coaches alike.
"Coach [Bud] Grant used to give me a really hard time about having so many coaches, and I would always tell him it's about ownership and player development," O'Connell shared with a smile. "And I'd try to show him examples, but he would still tell me, 'You've got way too many coaches.' I remember that very vividly.
"But it's a big part of my coaching philosophy; not only are the players developing and feeling like they've got a set of eyes on them at all times for the betterment of their improvement, but coaches are developing," O'Connell continued. "To have the leadership we have on our coaching staff is great, but I feel like we've got an unbelievable set of assistant position coaches, quality control coaches that are all going to continue ascending in this league, and rightly so because of the hands-on coaching that everybody gets to do."
