Vikings’ Hypothetical Injury Report Suggests Team Will Be Shorthanded for TNF
K. Joudry
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I’m among the football writers who hates Thursday Night Football. For all the talk about player safety, the league decided to cram another prime time game into the schedule, forcing players to get a mere few days of recovery before gearing up for another heavyweight battle. Alas, it’s the world we live in; the NFL’s raison d’être is to make money. Don’t expect them to change anytime soon. Because the team didn’t want to do a full scale practice following a game, the Vikings did a walk through, leading to the hypothetical injury report.
Vikings.com explains:
All listed participations are estimations. Minnesota listed running back Dalvin Cook (shoulder), receiver Adam Thielen (ankle), linebacker Blake Lynch (hip) and tackle Christian Darrisaw (ankle) as not participating. Linebackers Anthony Barr (knee/hamstring), Eric Kendricks (biceps) and Ryan Connelly (quadriceps) were listed as limited. So was safety Camryn Bynum (ankle). Cornerbacks Mackensie Alexander (ribs) and Bashaud Breeland (groin) were listed as full participants.
Before spending too much time decoding things, start off by turning to Purple PTSD‘s Mike Zimmer Injury Translator.
Don’t expect Minnesota to have Cook, Darrisaw, or Thielen. They’re all far too important to the team to see them risk a more serious injury. The team will need to adjust to not having them. The hypothetical injury report suggests the Vikings will also be without Blake Lynch, who made several nice plays on Sunday.
Getting Barr and Kendricks back at linebacker would be really helpful. It’s also possible that Patrick Peterson could be activated from the Covid-19 list. That’s a lot of talent back in the Vikings defense. Camryn Bynum looks like he might be both the future and present at safety. It’s plausible he replaces Xavier Woods if healthy. As Zim so eloquently explained in his presser, the Vikings “weren’t covering that great.” Getting some better snaps from Peterson and Bynum would help.
As I explained earlier, I’m fully expecting the Vikings to beat the Steelers. As soon as people start preparing for the future, the Vikings suck fans back into the present. Indeed, their DeLorean nullifies time travel, forcing the purple faithful to suffer through the here-and-now. It’s just how they roll. The return of a few crucial players may be just enough to get the team to 6-7.
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