We now might have a better idea of when Brett Favre will join the Vikings -- assuming the quarterback decides to play another season.

The Vikings released the schedule for the Mankato portion of their training camp and it will include 23 practices over 14 days. Officially they will open on Friday, July 30 with a single practice from 4 to 5:10 p.m. The following day the Vikings will conduct practices from 9 to 11:15 a.m. and 7 to 8:55 p.m. On Sunday, there again will be a single practice from 3 to 4:55 p.m.

The Vikings will be in Mankato until Thursday, Aug. 12 when they will close camp with a single practice from 9 to 11:15 a.m.

The following day they will travel to their preseason opener, which will be in St. Louis. The Vikings will face the Rams on Aug. 14. The expectation has been that Favre will not take part in any of the training camp practices in Mankato and also will skip the first preseason game, as he did a year ago.

The Vikings will hold two Saturday evening practices in Mankato, the second starting at 5 p.m. and going until 7 p.m. on Aug. 7. That will be followed by a day off.

The practices in Mankato are open to the public.

Meanwhile, the Vikings claimed wide receiver Marko Mitchell off waivers from the Detroit Lions on Monday, according to the Vikings website (www.vikings.com). Mitchell, 6-4, 218 pounds, was selected by Washington in the seventh round of the 2009 draft out of Nevada-Reno but was waived in May of this year. The Lions claimed Mitchell two days later and then waived him on June 25.

The Vikings also waived two undrafted rookie free agents on Monday. Let go were center Tommy Hernandez and defensive lineman Cedric McKinley.

Here is the schedule for the dates the Vikings will be in Mankato (all practice times are subject to change):

July 30: 4-5:10 p.m.

July 31: 9-11:15 a.m. and 7-8:55 p.m.

Aug. 1: 3-4:55 pm

Aug. 2: 9-11:15 a.m. and 3-4:55 p.m. Aug. 3: 9-11:10 a.m. and 3-4:55 p.m. Aug. 4: 9-11 a.m. and 2:10-3:15 pm (special teams) Aug. 5: 9-11:10 a.m. and 2:45-4:05 p.m. Aug. 6: 9-11:15 a.m. and 2:10-3:15 p.m. (special teams) Aug. 7: 9-11 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. Aug. 8: No practice Aug. 9: 9-11:15 a.m. and 2:45-4:05 p.m. Aug. 10: 9-11:15 a.m. and 2:10-3:15 p.m. (special teams) Aug. 11: 9-11:15 a.m. and 2:45-4:05 p.m. Aug. 12: 9-11:15 a.m.