Vikings Rookie CB Ruled Out for Week 14
Josh Frey
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Minnesota Vikings rookie CB Akayleb Evans made a much-anticipated return to the field this past weekend against the New York Jets. He had missed the previous two games due to a concussion that he suffered against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.
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During the game, Evans made a few very nice plays to make us feel good about the fourth-round pick’s future in Minnesota’s defense. However, he once again could not make it out of the game healthy.
Evans would leave the game with concussion symptoms once again, and during his Monday press conference, head coach Kevin O’Connell ruled the rookie CB as out for Week 14’s game against the Detroit Lions.
This is another frustrating blow to a rookie class that has been beat up for much of this season. The Vikings have already lost both Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. for the entirety of the season, and Evans is now set to miss his third game in four weeks. Not to mention, RB Ty Chandler has been on IR since October as well.
However, the Vikings won’t be as empty-handed in the secondary as they were against the New England Patriots when they were forced to start Duke Shelley. O’Connell mentioned during this press conference that they are planning on getting a full week of practice out of Cam Dantzler, and then hopefully, he’ll be good to go for the Lions game.
Dantzler has been on IR throughout the entirety of what arguably was the most difficult stretch of the Vikings season. Despite his absence, the Vikings went 3-1 against the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. Despite the blowout loss at home to the Cowboys, this has been a very impressive stretch of football without their CB2. Now, hopefully they’ll be able to get him back for a rivalry matchup with the Lions.
Kickoff between the Vikings and Lions is scheduled for 12 PM CST on Sunday, December 11th.
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.