Vikings Fans Will Have to Wait for Update on Irv Smith’s Status

Irv Smith

One of the more anticipated topics during Mike Zimmer’s Monday press conference was an update on the status of TE Irv Smith Jr. The budding star has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus and is expected to undergo surgery later this week. The unfortunate news broke on Sunday and took a lot of people by surprise. Smith played in the final preseason game and showed no signs of injury during the game nor on the sidelines. He was even interviewed in the second half and appeared to be in good spirits. 

Unfortunately for Vikings fans, we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer before knowing exactly how long Smith will be out. When asked about the injury status of the young tight end, Zimmer didn’t have a ton of answers. 

It looks like the surgery will be when we finally have an answer to this question, but for now we know this: Smith will either miss about a month, or the entire season. It’s a wide range of options, but it essentially comes down to how much repair the surgeons must do once they get in there. Zimmer also mentioned that the Vikings will look outside the organization for a replacement. With cuts going on today, there should be plenty of options to look at. 

To close with a bit of good news, the Vikings are expecting Tyler Conklin to return to practice. Conklin did not play any of the preseason after leaving practice a couple weeks ago with a hamstring injury. Especially with Smith’s injury, it is imperative that they get him ready to play week one as Brandon Dillon and rookie Zach Davidson are “next men up” in the Vikings TE room

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