Booth Out Again, Pair of Vikings Rookies Activated for First Time
Josh Frey
|
For the fourth consecutive game, rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. will not play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. The 2022 second-round pick has been dealing with a quad issue ever since the season opener against the Green Bay Packers and has played two total snaps this season. Fellow rookie and wide receiver Jalen Nailor ended up on the inactive list as well after making his first career reception in Week 4.
With Booth and Nailor both out, a pair of Vikings rookies have been activated for the first time in their NFL careers. We knew yesterday that tight end Nick Muse would play after Ben Ellefson went to IR, but additionally, running back Ty Chandler heads to the active roster for the first time in his NFL career.
Chandler played most of his collegiate ball at Tennessee from 2017-2020 before transferring to North Carolina in 2021. If you follow college ball, you’ll remember that Javonte Williams and Michael Carter both rushed for over 1000 yards during the 2020 season with the Tar Heels.
Prior to Chandler’s 2021 season with UNC, the RB had a career-high of 655 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs. He beat both of those in just eight games with the Tar Heels and finished the 2021 season with 1092 yards at a clip of six yards per carry while scoring 13 times. He also added 15 receptions for 216 yards and another touchdown.
Chandler was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2022 Draft and quickly became a preseason star. Over the course of the three exhibition games, the rookie RB rushed 15 times for 113 yards and a touchdown.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1111534″ player=”26281″ title=”The%20State%20of%20the%20Vikings%20in%20Week%205″ duration=”1333″ description=”Josh Frey chats with Dustin Baker about the state of the Vikings through four weeks.” uploaddate=”2022-10-05″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1111534_th_1664989449.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1111534.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
With Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, and Kene Nwangwu likely ahead of him in the depth chart, Chandler may not get a single rep on offense. However, Chandler did all the kick returning during preseason as well, so it will be interesting to see if he breaks onto the field in special teams.
The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings kick off at 12 PM CST this afternoon.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys training for marathons, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his takes, NFL and otherwise, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken