Most of Minnesota will still be fast asleep on Friday morning when the Vikings’ flight lands across the pond. If everything goes according to plan, the Vikings are scheduled to touch down in London between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. British Summer Time (BST), or between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Central Time (CT)

There will be no naps for players upon arrival. They will immediately get on a bus, then drive about an hour outside of London to their hotel. There is a team meeting on the books once the Vikings arrive, then a practice scheduled for 3:15 p.m. BST.

Essentially, players need to get as much sleep as possible on red-eye over the Atlantic Ocean or be prepared to push through the jet lag.

“We’re leaving right after practice, trying to get that sleep on the plane, and not going back to sleep when we land,” star receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We’re on our feet, moving around, trying to stay active, and pretty much going right back into practice.”

The schedule is designed to help the Vikings adjust to the six-hour time change in short order. The thought process is simple: If the Vikings can get their body clocks in tune with their surroundings by staying awake on Friday, they will feel relatively normal on Saturday, then be ready to play the New York Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It’s a similar script to a couple of years ago when the Vikings played the New Orleans Saints in London. Notably, the Vikings walked away with a 28-25 win in that game, so it makes sense they decided to stick to the status quo.

Asked about the logistics of the trip to London, head coach Kevin O’Connell deferred credit to vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams and director of player performance Josh Hingst. Williams and Hingst have worked in concert to determine how the Vikings should be approaching the next 72 hours or so.

“They tell me what they think is best and I put this schedule together hand in hand with that information,” O’Connell said. “It’s all about the intent of making sure the players know exactly what to expect and what the challenges may be.”

As the Vikings navigate those challenges and some of the other hiccups that might pop up along the way, it helps that many players have been down this road before. It’s become customary for the NFL to travel to London, so many players have experienced what it’s like, even if they weren’t on the Vikings at the time.

An example is veteran running back Aaron Jones. He was on the Green Bay Packers a couple of years ago when they played the New York Giants in London. He joked that he realized the importance of getting sleep on the plane only after seeing some of his former teammates dozing off during a team meeting.

“I think I only got a few hours,” Jones said with a laugh. “This time I’m going to knock out and take advantage of it.”

Safety Josh Metellus plans to listen to whatever he’s told to do to get his body clock right but isn’t too worried about adjusting to time change.

“As soon as kickoff rolls around I’ll be ready to go,” Metellus said. “None of that stuff bothers me.”

Related Articles

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold named NFC Offensive Player of the Month

Vikings’ Brian O’Neill was once teammates with Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo

Vikings plan to open practice window for tight end T.J. Hockenson

The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 5: Get ready for run on rookie receivers

What can Vikings’ defense learn from a disastrous final 15 minutes?