Vikings Lose Pass Rusher for Week 3 Game
The Vikings will be without pass rusher Dallas Turner for Week 3.
The official team communication has indicated that the long-and-strong defender hasn’t been participating in practice. More revelatory, however, was his own admission. Turner told KSTP’s Darren Wolfson that he’s working toward being ready for Week 4.
Vikings to be Without Dallas Turner
Already, Mr. Turner is leaving an impression.
Of course, there were some flashes in the preseason, but seeing some of that success carry over into the regular season is a positive development. He’s currently sitting at 5 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss. He has yet to start a game but he has gotten onto the field for 54 snaps with Brian Flores’ defense and 25 snaps for Matt Daniels’ special teams.
Consider what he had to say when chatting with Wolfson. The video:
Apparently, there was a high school issue with the knee, so it’s good news that the injury is relatively minor. Turner is working and rehabbing, doing what he can to “support” his teammates while also looking forward to Week 4 in Green Bay.
Getting the defender to Minnesota was costly. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had secured some extra draft ammo leading into the event — an extra 1st — a move that many believed was about making a bold move up for a quarterback. Instead, the bold move was for a pass rusher.
Adofo-Mensah jumped from No. 23 to No. 17. Doing so involved kicking in No. 167 in 2024 alongside a 3rd and 4th in 2025. The Vikings, quite evidently, have high hopes for the Alabama alumnus.
Losing Turner for a game means that more snaps are going to get snagged by Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Patrick Jones, and Jihad Ward. All four of those players have been playing well. Surprisingly, it’s Mr. Jones who leads the team in sacks, picking up 2 apiece across his pair of games.
If Minnesota decides that they want a bit more depth along the edge, then the practice squad offers Bo Richter and Andre Carter II as options. In all likelihood, Carter would get the nod since he was on the active roster last season and is working in his sophomore season. Richter, though, did make some nice plays in the preseason.
The Week 3 game is taking place on Sunday, September 22nd. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. Pulling off the win would involve Minnesota climbing to an ultra impressive 3-0 record despite no shortage of injury turmoil.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.