Jordan Addison's first time catching passes from Carson Wentz? Yesterday

Back from his three-game suspension, Jordan Addison returned to practice for the first time in over a month on Wednesday. That meant an opportunity to catch his first passes from the quarterback he'll be playing with on Sunday in Ireland.

The Vikings held their final practice of training camp on August 20. They signed Carson Wentz to be their new backup QB on the 24th. By the time they held their first official practice of the regular season on September 3rd, Addison's suspension had already begun. But despite not having banked any reps together before this week, the Vikings' third-year receiver feels good about his chemistry with Minnesota's current starter ahead of this weekend's game against the Steelers.

"It was today, actually," Addison said when asked about the first time he caught passes from Wentz. "We just worked a little bit after practice, just to get the timing down, but we was clicking, though. It's like we've been playing together for a minute."

Addison was away from the Vikings' facility to begin his suspension, which stems from his July 2024 DUI arrest. He was able to return on September 9, and that allowed him to work out and partake in meetings over the last two weeks. But it wasn't until this week that he was permitted to participate in practice again. He said he treated his time away from the facility like an offseason program.

"Really just staying around close loved ones and just keeping my mind focused," Addison said. "Even though I wasn't allowed in the building, I was making sure that I was still taking mental reps so that once I come back, it's like I ain't missing a beat. ... I was running routes, I was lifting, just the usual, like an offseason program, getting ready for camp."

Addison admitted that he was "in (his) thoughts a lot" during his isolated time away from football, so he was happy to get back around his teammates over the past couple weeks.

Now he hopes to hit the ground running in his return to game action. Addison, who has 1,786 yards and 19 receiving touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons, believes he'll be ready to immediately handle a full complement of snaps, largely due to the work he put in with the Vikings' strength and conditioning coaches since returning to the facility. His head coach seems to agree.

"I think Jordan's in shape," Kevin O'Connell said. "He's been working his tail off to make sure he's ready to go. It'll be a big week of practice for him, expecting him to have fresh legs. And when Jordan Addison has fresh legs, that's normally a really good thing."

Addison's third NFL season began with an outstanding performance in training camp. With Justin Jefferson missing most of camp due to a hamstring injury, Addison was the de facto No. 1 wide receiver for J.J. McCarthy. Those two developed a strong chemistry and connected time and time again on the practice field.

"He's got such unique separation ability throughout the different levels of routes," O'Connell said. "He can win early, can win late. And then, he's proven time and time again just how elite a catcher of the football he is. The training camp he had, if you asked me to figure out the podium of first, second and third place of the best (individual) training camps we had, he would for sure be on the podium. ... He was as good as he's ever been for us throughout and hoping he can pick up right where he left off."