For the Vikings, real football is less than a week away

Labor Day was Day 1 of the healthiest week the Vikings will enjoy until their season ends in early January or, if they shock the universe, the second week in February when Super Bowl LIX is held in New Orleans.

“I’m 100 percent, good to go for Sunday,” said cornerback Shaq Griffin, who has battled a right hamstring pull since Day 2 of camp.

All 53 players on the active roster were on the field for stretching Monday as the Vikings kicked off a Week 1 schedule that will conclude with Sunday’s season debut at the New York Giants. That included receiver Jordan Addison, who moved well but didn’t participate in the individual drills during the brief period that reporters are allowed to watch practice.

Addison injured his left ankle Aug. 14 in a joint practice with the Browns. He’ll be the name to watch when the week’s first injury report is released Wednesday.

Linebacker Blake Cashman was injured during the same practice that felled Addison. Cashman broke a finger in the facemask of a Browns running back during pass rushing drills early in the practice, finished the workout and was told he’d need surgery.

“It was more frustrating and annoying than anything, having to have a little procedure done on a little finger,” Cashman said. “I missed like six or seven practices, but I’m feeling good. Just glad it wasn’t anything to worry about.”

Week 1 in the NFL gets more unpredictable by the year as preseason work for frontline players ranges from nothing to minimal at best. Justin Jefferson, Harrison Smith, Aaron Jones, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Griffin are among the key stars who didn’t take a preseason snap. Sam Darnold, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill, Garrett Bradbury and Addison took 12 snaps in the first game. Josh Metellus, Cam Bynum, Byron Murphy Jr. and Cashman took 14, and Harrison Phillips 11.

How in the world do these guys go from three weeks of game days in which they meander the sideline like guys at the beach to the crazy intensity of 60-plus snaps come Week 1?

“I’m kind of trained for it at this point,” said Smith, the 35-year-old entering Year 13. “It’s not like riding a bike, per se. But I’ve felt this before. I try in practice to get into tackling positions that are more realistic, even though I know we’re not going to the ground.”

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Cashman said for veteran it’s about “not having lazy technique in practice. I feel at a certain point in your career the game becomes more mental than anything.”

Metellus said coach Kevin O’Connell’s decision to hold a team scrimmage last Thursday helped simulate the cardio portion of a game.

“It was to get our rep counts up,” Metellus said. “Trying to get our wind up and make sure we’re ready for drives that don’t go three-and-out and might go 10 or more plays.”

Griffin said he asked coaches to leave him on the field for extended periods during that scrimmage last week.

“I said, ‘Don’t take me out, no matter how I look,’” he said with a laugh. “I might have been tired, but let me go. Let me feel what it’s like when I got to get my lungs through that first long drive of the season.”

Darrisaw said he was helped tremendously by having to block reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett one on one during two joint practices in Cleveland. Darrisaw admits Garrett made him look bad on some snaps.

“I like that challenge,” he said. “He’s the best rusher I ever went against. I know the player I want to be in this league. I want to dominate. Getting two days against Myles Garrett was very valuable for this season.”

Jones said everyone can sense the heightened awareness that real football is right around the corner. Cashman echoed that sentiment as the ex-Gopher and Eden Prairie native looked forward to his first game as a Viking.

“It’s exciting just finally being able to put all our work together and showcase it for not only ourselves but the league and our fans,” he said. “Nobody’s really talking about the Minnesota Vikings. But I feel like a team that’s focused and prepares well is a dangerous team.

“And the way I look at it is we have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”