Updates on the Infirmary: A Complete Summary of the Vikings’ Injury Woes
K. Joudry
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Fans will be forgiven if they’ve found the Vikings’ injury woes difficult to corral. After all, Minnesota has seen all kinds of players need to miss time, from season-ending injuries to just needing to take a few plays off during a game.
On PurplePTSD, we like to be of service to the reader, so we’re offering up a humble piece to update Vikings fans about the roster’s health (or, as the case may be, lack thereof). Many will know about the ailments keeping guys like Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson off the field, but there is plenty more that has happened to this squad. Take a look.
The Vikings’ Injury Woes
Currently, the Minnesota Vikings have these players on the IR:
- Kirk Cousins
- Cam Akers
- James Lynch
- Oli Udoh
- Marcus Davenport
- Jordan Hicks
- Malik Knowles
- William Kwenkeu
- Justin Jefferson
- Nick Mullens
The couple names at the bottom — Jefferson and Mullens — stand out as being somewhat unique insofar as both have been designated for return. In theory, the Vikings could activate the pair as early as this week, bringing in some needed reinforcements for a battered and beleaguered Vikings squad.
Mullens’ status is a recent development, one that emerged yesterday. Josh Dobbs is going to continue being the QB1 until injury or poor play demand that someone else take over. Getting Mullens back would ensure that the Vikings have a seasoned veteran to step in if a need were to arise.
Let’s not forget that the original plan for these Vikings was to have Mullens as the main man if Cousins ever did succumb to injury. Unfortunately, that happened, but Mullens was already on the IR getting fixed up.
Furthermore, Chris Reed has been on the Non-Football Injury list since the offseason and he too has a shot at being activated before long. The veteran guard would instantly beef up the iOL depth as someone capable of playing all three spots.
And then one thinks of the players who are dealing with injuries but who aren’t on an official spot like the IR or NFI. Jaren Hall and K.J. Osborn missed last week due to their concussions. Both have a shot at being back in time for the Broncos game.
T.J. Hockenson has been working through some relatively significant pain in his ribs. Akayleb Evans had to miss some of the Saints game. Brian Asamoah has been trying to get healthy and so too has Dean Lowry been absent due to being dinged up. Alexander Mattison seems likely to miss the upcoming game since he left the Saints contest with a concussion.
Another name to keep in mind is Jalen Nailor. The sophomore receiver looked quick on Sunday, playing a very respectable 67 snaps in his first game back from injury. He had a single catch, which went for 16 yards.
Kevin O’Connell has been doing a marvellous job of navigating his team through these stormy waters. Many would have embraced excuses, contenting themselves with a subpar season while pointing to the vast array of injury troubles as a main culprit in Minnesota’s poor season. Instead, O’Connell has somehow found a way of improving his team even though he has been doing so with less and less of his main players.
The head coach’s next test will arrive on Sunday Night Football. Starting at 7:20 p.m. CST, the 6-4 Minnesota Vikings will battle the 4-5 Denver Broncos.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.