Long List of Injured Vikings Had a New Addition on Wednesday
Entering training camp, the one major injury storyline for the Minnesota Vikings was T.J. Hockenson’s recovery from his torn ACL. He suffered the injury in December and had surgery in late January, with a potential recovery timeline extending into the 2024 season. That is still the case, but recent events have overshadowed Hockenson’s return.
Long List of Injured Vikings Had a New Addition on Wednesday
J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending knee surgery hit the franchise hard as he showed flashes of brilliance in his lone preseason contest, enough for Vikings fans to believe the organization has finally found a franchise quarterback. That enthusiasm remained for a couple of days and fully evaporated on Tuesday.
It’s Sam Darnold’s show now. The expected bridge quarterback and former third overall pick will now quarterback the Vikes for an entire season, guiding the offense with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as primary weapons.
On Wednesday, however, that wideout tandem was suddenly in jeopardy as Addison got hurt during the first of two days of joint practices in Cleveland with Kevin Stefanski’s Browns.
Alec Lewis (The Atheltic) tweeted through the injury: “Vikings WR Jordan Addison just went down. Leapt for a contested ball. He’s hobbling off with help of trainers.”
A few moments later, he added that the sophomore was carted off the field. That, of course, immediately implies a serious injury.
Later, head coach Kevin O’Connell was optimistic that he would be back on the field soon despite leaving the scene on crutches, according to Ben Goessling (The Star Tribune): “Jordan Addison was on crutches with his left foot in a walking boot after the Vikings’ practice in Cleveland today, I’m told. Kevin O’Connell said Addison’s ankle injury didn’t appear to be serious. Addison won’t practice Thursday; we’ll see how long he needs to recover.”
VikingsTerritory’s Dustin Baker wrote on Wednesday evening: “Sources tell VikingsTerritory that Addison’s injury is ‘minor’ and won’t devolve into season-ending. To be clear — the source is not head coach Kevin O’Connell’s reassurances.”
A serious long-term absence should not be expected. Unfortunately, ankle sprains tend to require a few weeks off, too, and can linger, especially for explosive athletes like Addison.
Addison is a vital piece in O’Connell’s offense as Jefferson’s primary wingman. He produced 911 receiving yards and ten touchdowns in his rookie season, establishing himself as one of the better WR2s in the NFL.
In year two, Addison wants to be more prepared at the line of scrimmage, as he revealed in May: “My releases, that’s been the main focus for me, and I feel like it’s been paying off. My work is showing out there. Just having a plan once I get to the line (of scrimmage), being decisive and just making sure that I’m locked in on my releases.”
The sophomore added: “I feel like it’s going well so far. Last year, I wasn’t as confident in my releases, I wasn’t decisive, and I didn’t have a plan when I was coming up to the line. I was freelancing, trying to do what I could to make something work, but now it’s my focus (to have a plan).”
In July, the receiver made negative headlines when he was arrested in California. The incident will likely draw a suspension.
The season opener is three-and-a-half weeks away when the New York Giants are scheduled to host the Vikings. It remains to be seen whether Addison can recover in time for that bid or if he is sidelined.
Certainly not playing will be rookie quarterback McCarthy and cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, who suffered a torn ACL last month. Hockenson’s absence is likely, although not confirmed. Veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin has been forced to watch practices from the side for weeks.
Minnesota’s trainers have their work cut out for them, but at least Addison seems to have avoided a serious injury.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt