Vikings, Bears Going into MNF Matchup Shorthanded
Josh Frey
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The Vikings path to a road win at Soldier Field just got a little bit harder. Earlier this week, Minnesota announced they were activating G Pat Elflein from IR, and he would be starting this week. With the Vikings starting to turn a corner on their season, some veteran presence and depth on the O-line would have been nice for a playoff push.
However, it doesn’t look like that’s a luxury the Vikings will have. Friday evening the team announced they were waiving the guard, and rookie Ezra Cleveland would continue starting in his place. His roster spot will be taken by long-snapper Austin Cutting, who is returning from the COVID-19 Reserve list.
Elflein did not miss a single game with the Vikings until this season after being drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft. He originally went on IR after the season opener with a torn thumb ligament.
That’s not the only bad news of the weekend, though. Saturday afternoon, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin announced that TE Irv Smith Jr. will also miss Monday night’s game with a groin injury, and Cameron Dantzler is questionable.
Smith’s injury is definitely the biggest blow for the Vikings offense as the young tight end is coming off a two-touchdown game last week. The team will now have to rely on more production from Kyle Rudolph.
This news is a huge bummer because the one position that the Bears defense has not been able to cover is the tight end position. Hopefully, Rudolph will be able to step in and make a presence for himself in the offense.
Finally, the Bears will also be short a man at the running back position. Saturday afternoon, Chicago announced that David Montgomery will miss the game with a concussion. This will force QB Nick Foles to make more plays with his arms, and that should have the Vikings defense salivating after their three-interception performance against Detroit.