The Season Might Be Over for a Vikings Offseason Star
It’s been a disappointing season for the Minnesota Vikings. Injuries have played a significant role for the purple squad this year, especially concussions. Center Ryan Kelly and cornerback Jeff Okudah each suffered two of them and landed on IR for a while. While Kelly is back in the lineup, Okudah’s continued absence raises the question of whether he’ll return this year.
Jeff Okudah Is Still on IR
Okudah played a role in Brian Flores’ defense to start the season, logging 16 snaps in the season opener. In the last play of the game, when the Bears went into backyard football mode to save the game, he suffered a concussion, forcing him to sit out Week 2.
The former third overall pick then played the following five games, but suffered a second concussion in the infamous primetime contest in Los Angeles. Everyone was focusing on passer Carson Wentz, but Okudah’s injury flew under the radar. He was subsequently placed on IR, knocking him out for the next four games.
Those four matchups passed last week. He was eligible to return ahead of the game against Washington. Running back Ty Chandler had his practice window opened last week. Okudah is still sidelined.
He certainly won’t play in Dallas, and with only three (likely) meaningless games remaining in a lost season, he might not make his return in 2025 and enter the offseason early.
Training Camp Star Okudah
The Vikings were notably short at the cornerback position entering training camp. Pretty much every Vikings analyst or reporter suggested that another player in the CB room would help.
But the franchise was happy with the trio of Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers, and Okudah. Mekhi Blackmon was even traded to Indianapolis, where he has played a solid role.
Okudah was an early summer standout, making plays in OTAs and in training camp. He surprisingly didn’t face a real competition and was just handed the job, despite Dwight McGlothern or Mekhi Blackmon waiting to enter the race.
Justin Jefferson said in the offseason, “He has that speed … and he has that ability to really play-make and just be an annoying cornerback. That’s what I like to call those types of corners, ‘annoying cornerbacks,’ because they know how to be physical. They know how to get you off your route and not be able to have free access.”
Okudah was once the third overall pick and a highly-touted player coming out of Ohio State.
It Didn’t Translate
All the physical tools and the college film didn’t translate whatsoever, and neither did his offseason buzz.
Okudah was targeted by opposing quarterbacks to start the season. In his six games, the former Detroit Lions pick logged only 93 defensive snaps in a rotational role.
In his limited snaps, Okudah has gotten an abysmal PFF grade of 32.4. Those grades shouldn’t be taken as gospel, but it’s still one of the worst grades in the NFL, and they match the eye test. He’s also credited with 12 targets, allowing 11 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown, resulting in a passer rating of 146.5, coming close enough to a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
The tall corner signed a cheap one-year deal worth $2.35 million in March. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coordinator Brian Flores tried to moneyball the position, hoping to get more out of the defender than he had previously shown. Ultimately, he couldn’t make that envisioned step, and his already long injury resume didn’t get any shorter.
Okudah is scheduled to hit free agency once again in March, and the Vikings should try to find someone else to take his spot.
The season could very well be over for the 26-year-old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.