EAGAN  — After the coaching staffs for Jacksonville and Minnesota met the night before, a group of 12 trusted players from both the Jaguars and Vikings convened before the two teams took the field for their first joint practice.

The goal of the gatherings could be boiled down to this: No fighting.

Please.

“We really don’t want to end up being on TV like some of these other things,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We just want to get out there and get some work done and try to get each of us better.”

There’s no reason for the Jaguars and Vikings, who only play each other in the regular season every fourth year, to bring any grudges to these dual individual drills and simulated game situations.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone spent three years as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints, when Zimmer’s son and current Vikings linebackers coach Adam Zimmer was also on staff. Jaguars assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr . is the son of the late Vikings offensive line coach, who died suddenly of heart disease right before training camp .

“I think they’re an excellent football team. They’re well-disciplined. They’re well-coached,” Marrone said, speaking of the Vikings. “Those are the type of teams you want to come and practice against.”

This was Marrone’s idea, proposed to Zimmer shortly after the exhibition game schedule was finalized in April with the Jaguars playing the Vikings on Saturday.

Zimmer acknowledged some hesitation, citing his preference to follow training camp routine, but he agreed to include his team in an exercise that has long been common around the league. The workouts at Minnesota’s gleaming new facility will feature two teams that reached the conference championship games in January.

“I figured, ‘OK, they’re a good team. Let’s go and do it,’” Zimmer said.

The purpose is to break up the monotony of two-a-days and providing extra opportunities for evaluation of bottom-of-the-roster candidates. The Vikings joined the Bengals for practices two years ago in Cincinnati where Zimmer used to be the defensive coordinator, a trip that conveniently allowed him to stay at his ranch retreat in rural Kentucky.

“After going against the same defense, the same schemes, the same players every day, at some point it gets a little old,” Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen said.

The excitement and, thus, the intensity have ramped up for these sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. That’s why the pre-practice conversations took place about keeping the competition healthy and respectful.