More Injuries to the Vikings in Week 14
Josh Frey
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Heading into Week 14, the Minnesota Vikings had a number of notable injuries that lingered into the weekend. Minnesota got starting CB Cam Dantzler back from IR, but they also lost rookie CB Akayleb Evans to IR due to his third concussion of the season. Additionally, just before kickoff, we found out the Vikings would be without Garrett Bradbury, Christian Darrisaw, and Harrison Smith for the game.
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Of course, the Vikings went on to lose this game to the Lions, giving up 464 yards of offense to Detroit. Not only did they lose, though, but more injuries to the Vikings players popped up by the time the clock hit zero.
There are four notable players that came down with injuries, according to postgame reports. These four players are as follows:
- LT Blake Brandel
- CB Kris Boyd
- LB Jordan Hicks
- DL James Lynch
Left tackle Blake Brandel actually had to leave the game with his knee injury, and in his stead, it was Oli Udoh taking snaps. Ultimately, Brandel played 59 offensive snaps, and Udoh played eight snaps.
Brandel’s injury obviously hurts the Vikings depth on the offensive line, but with Christian Darrisaw being able to practice without a red no-contact jersey last week, it seems like the Vikings star may be set to return to the field this Saturday against the Colts.
The injury to the Vikings backup left tackle may not end up having a massive impact, but the trio of injuries to the Vikings defense might, depending on the severity. In particular, linebacker Jordan Hicks has been a major part of the Minnesota’s defense so far this season. Rookie Brian Asamoah progressively has been getting more snaps, but he is yet to take on the full responsibility of a starting off-ball linebacker this year.
In addition, Kris Boyd has played a huge role on the Vikings special teams, particularly on the coverage groups. He’s helped make big plays as a gunner, holding opponents to an average starting field position of their own 27.2-yard-line.
James Lynch hasn’t necessarily been a star for Minnesota on the defensive line, either, but any lack of depth to a team that rotates players on the defensive front as much as the Vikings do is a problem.
Of course, we will need to wait longer to see how serious any of these injuries actually are. Perhaps we won’t know for sure until the first injury report comes out later in the week. Whatever happens, be sure that we here at PurplePTSD will have the news covered whenever it comes out.
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.