Za’Darius Smith Probable to Return After Suffering Knee Injury
Josh Frey
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It was a huge first half for Za’Darius Smith against the Arizona Cardinals offense. The Vikings pass rusher totaled a pair of sacks and TFLs, benefiting from 60% of the Cardinals offensive line being out. He even got to pull out the Jared Allen “calf rope” celebration. Allen was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor at halftime after a terrific NFL career.
Smith is now up to 7.5 sacks on the year, leading the Vikings defense. However, all Vikings fans held their breath as he went down on the field following a play. His leg got caught up underneath NT Harrison Phillips, and he left with a knee injury.
Immediately after Smith left the game, Kyler Murray hit DeAndre Hopkins for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. The TD cut Minnesota’s lead to one possession, and after Greg Joseph had a 56-yard field goal blocked, Arizona gets the ball with a chance to take the lead to open the second half.
Luckily, Smith has been listed as probable to return. Minnesota will certainly need his presence to close out the game as they currently lead 14-10 heading into the third quarter.
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 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.