Irv Smith Jr. Likely Out for the Year
Josh Frey
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After an unexpected announcement that TE Irv Smith Jr suffered a torn meniscus in the final preseason game, we knew there were likely two different timelines. Either Smith would miss 3-4 weeks, or he would be out for multiple months.
Unfortunately, it seems that the latter is likely the case. Smith underwent surgery on Wednesday morning, and the Vikings fear that his season is over. Adam Schefter reported that the budding star’s timeline is likely in the 4-5 month range; putting him out of action until at least January. Given that timetable, Smith will undoubtedly head to IR this week.
If there is any silver lining in this, it’s that now Smith has a chance to fully heal to return for the 2022 season. Additionally, the Vikings were prepared for this result. They went out and traded for Chris Herndon yesterday amidst trimming down the roster to 53 players.
Herndon has a ton of upside as a pass catcher despite having modest numbers in a dysfunction New York Jets system. The Vikings also have Tyler Conklin to fill in a lot of gaps, and they can hope for some flashes from Brandon Dillon.
However, it cannot be overstated how big of a blow this is as well as just being a bummer for a young player. The Vikings were prepared to essentially make Smith their third option in the passing game, and he was set for a breakout year as a red zone threat.
This is just the latest news in a month that has been very rough for the Vikings pass catchers. Bisi Johnson is out for the year, and we found out yesterday that Chad Beebe will have season-ending foot surgery. To pile on, free agent signing Dede Westbrook is coming off an ACL tear, and his recovery as been slow. There have also been chips in the armor to all three of Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and Tyler Conklin.