Kevin O’Connell and The Great Injury News on 3 Vikings

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Las Vegas Raiders
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Good news, Vikings fans: several of Minnesota’s players are recovering well from their injuries. According to Kevin O’Connell, RT Brian O’Neill, S Lewis Cine, and CB Andrew Booth Jr. will all be able to participate in various portions of the offseason.

The fine folks at Vikings.com relay the quotes.

Per O’Connell, O’Neill is going to “be ready for training camp.” That expectation, though, isn’t going to get in the way of exercising wisdom with the star right tackle (who is a prime restructure candidate):

He’s already out of his boot — I saw yesterday — and progressing in his rehab. We’re expecting Brian to be ready to go — we’ll be smart with him early on in camp; he’s played a lot of football, we know, and Year 2 in the offense is a huge benefit versus Year 1 where those guys are kind of learning a little bit more about how we operate.

Nov 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Brian O’Neill (75) celebrates the win after the game against the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Williams – the team’s Executive Director of Health and Performance – said the injury “was unique” but that the big man is doing “great work.”

There has been no shortage of consternation surrounding the corner position. After all, the team only has Cameron Dantzler, Andrew Booth Jr., and Akayleb Evans as potential starters (with Tay Gowan and Kalon Barnes looking like a long shot).

Minnesota’s head coach clarified that Booth is working through a “six-to-eight-month rehab.” Thankfully, the soon-to-be sophomore is in good spirits:

You see him a ton in the building with a smile on his face, which we love having those [Cine and Booth] working together, a big part of our nucleus being first- and second-round draft picks from a year ago that made somewhat of an impact.

Finally, Mr. Lewis Cine. He was lauded going into the draft for his aggressiveness. Unfortunately, his leg injury in Week 4 cut his season short. Overall, he played a mere 2 defensive snaps in his rookie season. Josh Frey has identified safety as an underrated need – he’s right – but perhaps Cine’s return will help to nullify some of these concerns.

Jul 27, 2022; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine (6) performs a drill at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

O’Connell is looking for his young safety to be involved in OTAs: “the hope is we’ll have Lew for, potentially, the start of that process.”

All 3 are making nice progress even as much work remains. Seeing the trio continue to progress and get onto the field sooner rather than later can only mean good things for Minnesota’s chances of repeating as NFC North champs.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.

Share: