Vikings Hit with Tough Injury Blow
The Minnesota Vikings have not received much kind injury news this season, although the arrow was clearly pointing up in recent days with the season debuts of Harrison Smith and Christian Darrisaw, as well as Jeff Okudah’s and Andrew Van Ginkel’s returns on Sunday. Furthermore, Kevin O’Connell didn’t report any concerning new injuries after the game.
Vikings Hit with Tough Injury Blow
The next day, however, O’Connell had his usual Monday press conference and revealed that guard Donovan Jackson had to undergo surgery for an injury suffered in the previous game versus the Atlanta Falcons. He played through that issue on Sunday.
“Just want to, first and foremost, highlight a young player who played a fantastic football game, but to do it in those circumstances and be willing to, without any hesitation, be out there with his team,” O’Connell praised his young blocker. “We’re already down some guys in the interior who will return this week, but I thought Donovan was fantastic on the field, and what that means within the standing amongst the locker room and his teammates is just fantastic.”
Jackson was picked 24th overall in April’s draft, which is pretty high for a guard. In fact, it was the first guard selected in the first round by the Vikings in nearly four decades. His first three games have been quite promising, and now he undoubtedly gets the toughness stamp.
O’Connell added that an evaluation determined Jackson would be able to play without doing further harm, and it’s another time he has shown his team-first mentality. In college, he transitioned to tackle during the last season after Josh Simmons’ injury, potentially hurting his own draft stock.
A sweet wrinkle is the upcoming bye week. Sure, Jackson will have to sit out the two games in Europe, which will be against some excellent defensive lines, but the break afterwards could limit his absence to only those two contests. The Vikings surely would love to have him back in the lineup against the Philadelphia Eagles and their defensive line, filled with standout defenders.
“We’re hoping to be able to use the bye as part of that timeline to have Donovan back as soon as possible,” O’Connell noted. “But he’s off to a great start in his career — everything we hoped he would be. And yesterday was a big-time day for so many layers for him as a young player, showing his toughness, showing his commitment and being a huge part of our ability to not only run the football but just be effective on offense.”
Jackson has allowed five QB pressures in his three games. Four of those came against the Falcons in the Week 2 beatdown. Despite his injury, he only allowed the Bengals to pressure Carson Wentz once. The Ohio State alumnus received the Baldy’s Breakdowns treatment for the second time this year.
While Jackson is sidelined, the Vikings will turn to backup Blake Brandel, who was a starter last year and should be considered a solid backup. The decision-makers wanted to overhaul the entire interior of the offensive line, but Brandel brings experience and even played well in the first half of the season a year ago. There’s a belief that Christian Darrisaw’s absence played a role in his drop-off.
This time, he will have Darrisaw on his left side. Center Ryan Kelly is expected to return from his concussion this week, too. Flanked by two solid blockers, Brandel should be set up as well as possible.
His first matchup will be against Cam Heyward, who’s one of the top interior linemen in the league at the age of 36.
The hope is for Jackson to return in a few weeks. He has not been placed on IR, indicating that he’ll be back within the next four games.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.