Justin Jefferson Among 5 Vikings on First Injury Report
Josh Frey
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Following the Minnesota Vikings victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, a game that was extremely physical, it was expected that there would be a number of Vikings on the injury report in Week 11. Well, that is certainly the case as five Vikings are listed on Wednesday’s report, and among them is star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson was listed as a limited participant because of a toe injury. It’s unclear when exactly this injury occurred as the star receiver didn’t seem to be hindered at all in Sunday’s game. In the win against Buffalo, he caught 10 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
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Jefferson has never missed a game in his young NFL career, playing all 42 possible games. This would be a first and certainly a massive blow to the Vikings offense, but at this point in the week, there’s no reason to assume that he won’t be available this weekend.
As for today’s “practice” Kevin O’Connell said during his press conference that it was less of a full-on practice and much closer to a walkthrough. Again, this is because of how grueling the game against the Bills was.
Due to the fact that Minnesota has to play two games in the next week, hosting the Cowboys on Sunday before turning around and playing the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving, it makes sense to ease into some of these practices.
Also listed on the first Vikings injury report as limited was Za’Darius Smith. He finished the Buffalo game despite suffering a knee contusion, and that same injury lands him back on the report this week. Three Vikings were also out on Wednesday, and they are as follows:
- LT Christian Darrisaw (concussion)
- CB Akayleb Evans (concussion)
- DL Dalvin Tomlinson (calf)
Darrisaw and Evans were both forced to leave Sunday’s game with their concussions, and they must clear protocols in order to play this weekend. Luckily, some good play from their replacements helped the Vikings win. Blake Brandel displayed terrific pass blocking skills on Sunday, and Duke Shelley made a game-saving pass breakup during overtime in the end zone.
As for Tomlinson, he’s missed each of the past two games, and evidently, his calf is still bothering him too much too practice at all. Seeing as the Vikings have such a cushion in the NFC North at 8-1, and that they’ve been able to win without him, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him sit out a third game.
The Cowboys are similarly banged up at this point in the season. They listed six players on their first injury report, including former Vikings LB Anthony Barr. Here’s their full list of injured players:
- LB Anthony Barr- Limited (hamstring)
- CB Anthony Brown- Limited (concussion)
- RB Ezekiel Elliott- Limited (knee)
- WR Michael Gallup- Full (knee)
- DE DeMarcus Lawrence- DNP (foot)
- OT Tyler Smith- Full (knee)
This is set to be Barr’s first game back at U.S. Bank Stadium since the Vikings didn’t re-sign him this offseason. Barr spent eight seasons with the Vikings and started 98 games. He was a captain during the final four seasons of his tenure from 2018-2021, and he made four Pro Bowls as a Viking.
So far with the Cowboys (6-3), he’s played in eight games and made four starts. He sat out their most recent game against the Green Bay Packers, which Dallas lost in overtime, 31-28. Barr has recorded 31 tackles, 1 TFL, a pass defense, and a fumble recovery so far in 2022. We’ll see as the week progresses if he is healthy enough to play against his former team.
The Vikings Game This Week
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.