Vikings, Roger Goodell get on board with virtual reality

MANKATO, Minn. — Count Teddy Bridgewater as the latest young quarterback whose training is about to enter a virtual realm.

The Minnesota Vikings finalized a deal Sunday with STRIVR Labs, Inc., to use its immersive training solution, a person with knowledge of the deal told Paste BN Sports.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Vikings hadn't announced the deal, which was in motion since the sides met earlier in the week.

The NFL's virtual reality revolution is moving quickly enough Commissioner Roger Goodell toured STRIVR's facilities last week, a different person said.

The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers previously were known to have signed on with STRIVR. The Boston Globe reported the New England Patriots will use the technology as well. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed with competitor EON Sports.

Virtual reps aren't a new concept for players such as Bridgewater, who has loaded plays similar to those his team runs into the Madden NFL video game on Xbox since college.

STRIVR uses practice tape to generate those virtual reps, while EON functions more like an advanced video game. There also is at least one company developing a training solution based on augmented reality, which adds information to an existing environment instead of transporting the user to an entirely new one.

"That would be crazy to be able to play with avatars," Bridgewater said in December. "It'd be like real life almost, except that you can't get tackled and it won't take a physical toll on your body."

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.