Vikings Have a Surprise Player on the Injury Report
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings play the 14th of 17 regular-season games. That game will take place in Dallas. The Chicago Bears can eliminate the Vikes prior to kickoff by beating the Cleveland Browns at home.
Dallas has recently gained some steam in the playoff race, but they need to stack some victories over the next month.
Vikings Have a Surprise Player on the Injury Report
The Vikings released the first injury report of the week, and it’s not looking pretty with 15 players listed.
On the bright side, only two guys skipped the entire practice session: Christian Darrisaw and T.J. Hockenson. The former has been dealing with his knee injury all year. Usually, he logs full practice on Wednesdays and Fridays and rests on Thursdays. Therefore, his absence is worth monitoring. Darrisaw was replaced by backup Justin Skule in the fourth quarter of the last game against the Washington Commanders.
Hockenson, meanwhile, was out on Wednesday with a shin injury. It’s the first time we learn anything about that issue. He has yet to miss a game this season after he was limited last year following his ACL tear.
Despite playing in every game, his numbers have been a major disappointment. The veteran tight end has only caught 46 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns. There are two primary reasons for that.
First of all, Hockenson has — like all receivers — struggled to put up numbers because the quarterback play simply doesn’t allow it. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and the tight ends cannot produce if the passer is finishing his day with 150 yards.
The second reason is his role change. Hockenson went from a pass-catching tight end to a partial blocking tight end this year. Given the offensive line’s struggles, especially earlier in the season when Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill were sidelined, Kevin O’Connell deployed Hockenson as help in the blocking game, limiting his impact as a pass-catcher.
The injury is unfortunate, as Hockenson just caught his third touchdown last game, one week after generating a season-best 59 yards.
If he can’t go, the Vikings would turn to Josh Oliver full-time. He’s the blocking specialist, who’s coming off the first two-touchdown game of his career.
Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, and Donovan Jackson are three notable offensive players with limited designations. It’s an Achilles injury for Addison, and even though it’s probably just soreness, nobody wants to hear that word whatsoever.
Jackson is still dealing with the ankle injury that put his status for the Commanders game in jeopardy. He ultimately played through the injury and has shown that he’s one of the toughest players out there.
For Jones, it’s also a pre-existing injury. He’s been dealing with the shoulder injury for a few weeks now, but it has yet to cost him a game. Jones has been excellent since returning from his early-year injury.
On defense, Joshua Metellus (shoulder), Levi Drake Rodriguez (neck), and Theo Jackson (neck) were all limited. Rodriguez and Jackson missed Sunday’s game, so it’s a good sign to see them out there, even in a limited fashion.
The Vikings also rested six players on Wednesday: Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Justin Jefferson, Ryan Kelly, Brian O’Neill, and Harrison Smith.
They were all limited and should be good to go.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.