Vikings Have a Big Injury Situation to Monitor
Injuries have already had a big impact on this year’s NFL season. Nobody can control the injuries around the league, but the Vikings might be dealing with a vastly different-looking opponent in Week 3.
Vikings Have a Big Injury Situation to Monitor
Star quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury in Week 2, and his status for the near future is in question. The Cincinnati Bengals are next on Minnesota’s docket.
Jeremy Rauch of Fox19 reported, “Source: Joe Burrow is believed to have turf toe with torn ligaments. Tricky timeline on his return, but expectation would be several weeks.”
After the game, head coach Zac Taylor didn’t offer any more information. But Burrow was spotted wearing a boot on his foot.
Toe injuries don’t sound nearly as bad as other injuries, but they surely are. San Francisco’s passer Brock Purdy missed Week 2 with a toe injury, and his status is a mystery going forward. Turf toes can take weeks or months to heal and may linger. Even if Burrow can magically return in time for the Vikings bout, he would be limited and lack his usual mobility.
ESPN’s Ben Baby wrote, “Initially, Burrow was limping as he tried to walk off the field. But after a couple of steps, he went down on the turf. Burrow had a lengthy evaluation in the blue injury tent. After several minutes, he attempted to walk back into the locker room. However, Burrow stopped roughly 15 feet short of the tunnel that leads beneath the stadium as he sought assistance from trainers to make it back inside.”
He’s just coming off an MVP-caliber season, and it’s not too far-fetched to say he was the best quarterback in the NFL all year, passing for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. The defense’s struggles kept him out of the playoffs, but Burrow was masterful all year. Through two games, his stats show 113 passing yards and one touchdown in 2025.
Now, the problem might be that his backup can ball, too. Jake Browning finished the job on Sunday, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars by collecting 241 passing yards and three touchdowns (one rushing). However, he also added three interceptions, which could be the biggest difference between him and Burrow.
Still, the Vikings have already met Browning in the 2023 season, and that didn’t go too well. His reaction late in the game, yelling “should’ve never cut me,” went viral, and indeed, the Vikings had him on the roster from 2019 to 2021.
He signed as an undrafted rookie out of Washington in 2019 and was kept on the practice squad for two seasons. In 2021, the Vikings ultimately parted ways with him, and he joined Cincinnati’s practice squad.
When Burrow suffered a hand injury in 2023, Browning started seven games and went 4-3. He completed a wonderful 70.4% of his passes and accumulated 12 touchdowns and seven picks along with 1,936 yards through the air.
The Vikings have not been on the lucky injury side this season either. Christian Darrisaw and Harrison Smith have yet to make their season debuts, while Andrew Van Ginkel and Jeff Okudah are in concussion protocol, and Blake Cashman and Ty Chandler landed on IR.
The Vikings versus Bengals matchup could be missing some key players next Sunday.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.