by EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell’s dreaded morning call came during a rare holiday stretch in the NFL calendar, a summer vacation weekend marred by the sudden death of rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson.
The fourth-round pick out of Oregon was supposed to report to training camp this week with the rest of his draft class.
Instead, O’Connell spent much of his season-opening news conference Monday discussing plans to honor the gregarious 24-year-old who never got to play in a game and how the Vikings have mourned Jackson since he and two friends — Isaiah Hazel and AJ Lytton — were killed in a car crash July 6 in their home state of Maryland.
“Between his joy, the way he approached life and also his hard-working spirit,” said CEO Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, “we were so happy to add him to this building, to this culture. It’s a tragedy that he’s no longer here.”
Jackson and Hazel’s funeral will be held Friday. The Vikings said they have donated more than $20,000 to cover the cost, and Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell will attend the service along with defensive coordinator Brian Flores, special teams coordinator Matt Daniels and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. The team will also bring Jackson’s family to Minnesota in the coming weeks for a private memorial service with Vikings players and coaches.
Jackson’s uniform (he wore No. 31) and his locker will not be used this season. Players will wear stickers on their helmets with his initials, and coaches will wear pins with the same design.
Thirty-eight players showed up at team headquarters Sunday — mostly rookies, quarterbacks and players rehabbing — before the rest of the team arrived Tuesday. O’Connell normally waits until everyone is present to deliver his season-opening speech, but this year he took time to speak with the first group to reiterate the availability of mental health resources and explain to the players closest to Jackson how the team plans to honor him.
“Khyree hasn’t been on our team very long, but the way our culture works … it doesn’t take long for guys to build strong bonds and relationships,” O’Connell said. “Just talking to some of our veteran leaders throughout the summer and getting their feelings and ideas across, it was pretty remarkable to hear the impact he’s had in such a short period of time.”
Perhaps the most significant impact of Jackson’s departure from the Vikings will be a reminder of the fragility of life and, for players, the eternally precarious nature of their careers.
“I think it’s a wake-up call in a lot of ways because we’re not guaranteed to live another day on this earth at any point,” O’Connell said. “And there’s not a player in this locker room who hasn’t thought about that at some point in their grieving process, how unfair it was to Khyree and his family, and questions like, ‘How could this have happened?’ or ‘Could it have been me?’”
That point became especially poignant less than a week later, when sophomore receiver Jordan Addison was arrested in California on suspicion of driving under the influence. Addison, who was cited for speeding just before his first training camp, was scheduled to report to camp Tuesday.
The Vikings have so far handed over any disciplinary role to the NFL under the collectively negotiated player conduct policy, and such sanctions from the league are rarely enforced until the legal process is complete.
“Jordan is a disappointment, but he’s stronger than that,” Adofo-Mensah said. “He has high standards, was raised by a great family. He knows what types of behaviors he needs to have to be the best version of himself. He’s let himself down a little bit in that regard. Using words like discipline and things like that, we don’t really talk about it like that within these walls. Within these walls, it’s about designing the outcome that we want. The outcome that we want is for Jordan to be the best version of himself on and off the court, and he’s bought into that exact same idea.”
