BEREA, Ohio — There is nobody in the NFL quite like star edge rusher Myles Garrett. He’s singular in everything he does.

Just ask the Vikings who had to go up against Garrett on Wednesday and Thursday during joint practices with the Cleveland Browns.

“He’s a freak of nature,” star receiver Justin Jefferson said. “To see how big he is, how fast he is, how explosive he is, it’s only going to get us better. We’re not going to see a Myles Garrett every single week. To go up against him in these joint practices and really get physical, and go period after period with him getting these one-on-one reps with him, it’s going to make our offensive line 20 times better.”

That’s exactly what head coach Kevin O’Connell was looking for when he set up joint practices. He looked at it as a chance for the Vikings to compete against somebody else in the name of improvement.

That was on display as star left tackle Christian Darrisaw and star right tackle Brian O’Neill had their hands full with Garrett.

“You know every single snap he can wreck the game,” O’Connell said. “He’s got every aspect of pass rush and I don’t think people talk about his instincts enough. He understands through his experiences the types of tools that may be used against him to try to mitigate some of his impact. He’s ready for it and can play off of that well.”

Whether it was a lightning-fast speed rush off the edge or the superhuman power move at the point of attack, Garrett was dominant from the moment he stepped on the field.

“It’s obvious to me why he is so good,” veteran quarterback Sam Darnold said. “It’s because he comes out here and works his tail off.”

As a result, the Vikings had to work their tail off, too, and they got themselves better in the process.

Addison shouldn’t miss significant time

The good news for the Vikings is it doesn’t sound like receiver Jordan Addison is going to miss an extended period with the ankle injury he suffered during joint practices.

“He’ll work through the rehab process,” O’Connell said. “Looking forward to getting him back as fast as possible.”

As for fellow receiver Thayer Thomas, who suffered a scary head injury on Wednesday afternoon, O’Connell said he’s in the concussion protocol and won’t play in the preseason game between the Vikings and the Browns on Saturday.

The most notable absence from joint practices on Thursday afternoon was linebacker Blake Cashman. He suffered a finger injury that required stitches and is expected to be good to go as soon as that heals up.

Vikings still talking with Gilmore

After hosting veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore for a visit earlier this week, the Vikings have remained in contact with hopes of signing him at some point.

The secondary could certainly use the help considering the lack of depth at cornerback.

“We had a great visit with him,” O’Connell said. “He’s absolutely a guy that we have such respect for. We’re going to continue to stay in contact. Hopefully at some point we can figure out exactly what that’s going to look like whether he’s going to be here or not so we can make a plan moving forward.”

As for veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin, who has been dealing with a leg injury, O’Connell hinted that he could be back in action sooner rather than later.

“That timeline has always been one where we thought the regular season would not be in question,” O’Connell said. “It will be about at what point we can acclimate back into football and build up his reps.”

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