Category: Minnesota Vikings

Vikings will look to slow down Broncos’ 1-2 punch at RB

The Vikings have the test of going up against the Broncos, Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Vikings have been pretty solid against the run this season, ranking seventh in yards allowed to go with just two rushing touchdowns, a mark that ranks second in the league.

They will have the test of going up against the Broncos, Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“Lindsay kind of can do it all,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Friday when comparing the two running backs. “He’s a little bit more of a scat guy, bounces. He’s got great speed and acceleration, really tough. They’re both tough, hard runners. The other guy (Royce Freeman) might be a little bit more in the tackles, but he does a nice job on screens and getting the ball to the perimeter as well. He’s a good back.”

Lindsay, who is in his second season, has 585 rushing yards to go with five touchdowns. He also has 25 receptions for 160 yards. Freeman, also in his second season, has 374 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with 27 catches for 181 yards.

Both players are averaging more than four yards per carry.

They might not be the biggest names the Vikings have faced this season, but they are certainly dangerous, and without Linval Joseph, chances are the Vikings are plenty aware of that.

Nearly all experts have Vikings beating Broncos

The 7-3 Vikings host the 3-6 Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 10.

The 7-3 Vikings host the 3-6 Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 10.

The Vikings are double-digit favorites in the game, and per NFLPickWatch.com, 99 percent of experts have the Vikings beating the Broncos.

While the Vikings should win this game, it’s worth noting that the team will be without Adam Thielen, Linval Joseph, Anthony Harris and Josh Kline.

The Vikings are 7-7 all-time against the Broncos, and have lost the last three games, most recently in 2015.

To round out the NFC North, the Packers are on bye, 97 percent have the Lions losing to the Cowboys at home, and 86 percent have the Bears losing on the road against the Rams.

Vikings activate WR Josh Doctson to 53-man roster

The Vikings have finally activated wide receiver Josh Doctson (hamstring) from the injured reserve.

The Vikings have finally activated wide receiver Josh Doctson (hamstring) from the injured reserve.

He’s now eligible to play in Week 11 against the Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

This move isn’t a huge surprise with the Vikings releasing wide receiver Davion Davis (who later signed on the practice squad) to make room for Doctson.

The team signed Doctson prior to the season after he was released by the Redskins.

Doctson was the 22nd-overall pick by the Redskins in the 2016 NFL Draft, just a spot ahead of Laquon Treadwell, who is now his teammate.

In his three seasons with Washington, Doctson had 81 receptions for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. He played the 2016 and 2017 seasons with Kirk Cousins at the helm of Washington’s offense.

If active on Sunday, he’ll join Stefon Diggs, Bisi Johnson and Treadwell as healthy receivers on the roster. Adam Thielen (hamstring) has already been listed as out.

Thielen among 4 starters out for Vikings vs. Broncos

This gives some players an extra week off before a Week 12 bye week.

The Vikings will be without four starters for Sunday afternoon’s tilt against the Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring), guard Josh Kline (concussion), defensive tackle Linval Joseph (knee) and safety Anthony Harris (groin) will all be held out.

It’s worth noting the Vikings have a Week 12 bye week.

For Thielen, he’s dealing with an injury that has hindered him since Week 7. We’ll likely see more of what we’ve seen of lately from the wide receiver unit, led by Stefon Diggs with appearances from Laquon Treadwell and Bisi Johnson.

We’ll see Dakota Dozier fill in for Kline and start his fourth game of the season.

Jaleel Johnson will likely start his second-straight game for Joseph.

And we could see Andrew Sendejo, who signed back with the Vikings, start for Harris.

Sendejo, meanwhile, is questionable with a groin injury. He’s been limited in two practices this week.

We’ll get his official availability 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday.

Vikings take S Xavier McKinney in 1st-round of too-early mock draft

Minnesota drafted Marcus Epps in the sixth-round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but released him last week to make room for Andrew Sendejo. 

Our friend Luke Easterling put together a three-round mock draft earlier this week.

Of course, the NFL season hasn’t ended yet, but the first round of the draft is starting to take shape, so we might as well speculate.

With the 24th pick, the Vikings take safety Xavier McKinney out of Alabama.

At this point in the draft process, it’s probably smarter to take a look at what position draft experts have the Vikings taking than the actual player.

The Vikings have their two starters at safety with Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris, but is an unrestricted free agent after the year.

Minnesota drafted Marcus Epps in the sixth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but released him last week to make room for Andrew Sendejo.

McKinney has 43 tackles, two sacks and an interception as a junior.

Vikings not among 11 teams committed to attending Colin Kaepernick workout

Of course, the workout is in two days and more teams will likely be added to this list.

There are 11 NFL teams that are confirmed to be there for Saturday’s Colin Kaepernick workout, per the NFL.

The Vikings are not one of them.

The teams that have committed thus far are Arizona, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, New England, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay and Washington.

Of course, the workout is in two days and more teams will likely be added to this list.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked if the team would have someone at Kaepernick’s workout, Zimmer said that was more of a Rick Spielman kind of question.

Kaepernick last played in 2016.

In six seasons and 58 starts with the 49ers, Kaepernick threw for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions while rushing for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Vikings have Kirk Cousins under contract for next season, but no other quarterback is under contract.

Dalvin Cook remains 2nd in RB rankings

Cook is on pace for 1,585 yards and 16 touchdowns to go with 64 catches for 678 receiving yards.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts on Sunday night against the Cowboys.

In NFL.com’s Week 11 running back rankings, Cook remained second, behind only Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey.

Per Pro Football Focus, Cook grades as the league’s fifth-best running back with a grade of 85.3. Only Josh Jacobs, McCaffrey, Aaron Jones and Austin Ekeler rank ahead of him.

On the season, Cook has a league-leading 991 rushing yards to go with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also has 40 receptions for 424 yards.

He’s on pace for 1,585 yards and 16 touchdowns to go with 64 catches for 678 receiving yards.

Cook will have his next chance to have a big game on Sunday against the Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Broncos are allowing 107 rushing yards per game, a mark that ranks 17th in the league.

Kirk Cousins moves up 3 spots in Week 11 QB rankings

Cousins is now 15-10-1 in 26 games with the Vikings.

After throwing for 220 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in Sunday night’s 28-24 win over the Cowboys, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins moved from 14th to 11th in NFL.com’s QB rankings.

The Vikings improved to 7-3 with the win and Cousins is now 15-10-1 in 26 games with the Vikings.

Here’s a snippet of what was written about Cousins:

Cousins made some big throws when the Vikings needed it on Sunday night, snapping his streak of losses in prime-time games against teams that entered the contest with a winning record at six. He enters this weekend’s tilt with the Broncos having thrown 142 consecutive passes without an INT (longest active streak), and his 124.4 passer rating since Week 5 is the NFL’s best in that span.

On the season, Cousins has thrown for 2,437 yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. That puts him on pace for 3,899 yards, 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

Per Pro Football Focus, Cousins grades as the league’s ninth-best quarterback with a score of 82.7.

To round out the NFC North, Aaron Rodgers ranks fifth, Matthew Stafford ranks sixth and Mitchell Trubisky ranks 28th.

Vikings S Anthony Harris (groin) misses Thursday’s practice

After being limited in Wednesday’s practice with a groin injury, Vikings safety Anthony Harris was held out of Thursday’s practice.

After being limited in Wednesday’s practice with a groin injury, Vikings safety Anthony Harris was held out of Thursday’s practice.

Generally not the direction you want to see things go for injuries.

Harris’ absence would be a big blow to the defense in Week 11 against the Broncos, but the team did sign Andrew Sendejo last week, a player who is familiar with the team’s system.

With a grade of 82.3, Harris ranks as the fifth highest-graded safety in the NFL per Pro Football Focus.

Also out for the Vikings was wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring), nose tackle Linval Joseph (knee) and guard Josh Kline (concussion).

Sendejo (groin) was limited.

Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee) was a full participant after missing Wednesday’s practice, likely as a rest day.

Also practicing in full was cornerback Trae Waynes (ankle), fullback C.J. Ham (ankle), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (elbow), defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo (shoulder), linebacker Eric Kendricks (hip) and defensive tackle Armon Watts (elbow).

We’ll get official injury designations for these players on Friday.

Vikings place C Brett Jones on IR, sign T Aviante Collins from practice squad

Jones suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

The Vikings have place center Brett Jones on the injured reserve with a knee injury.

In a corresponding move, the team signed tackle Aviante Collings to the active roster from the practice squad. The team also signed wide receiver Davion Davis to the practice squad after releasing him on Tuesday.

With the Titans signing fullback Khare Blasingame from the Vikings practice squad yesterday, Minnesota’s practice squad is at 10.

It’s somewhat ironic that Collins is replacing Jones on the active roster considering Collins suffured a similar type of MCL injury that Jones is currently hurt with.

“Sometimes blessings come with bad things,” Collins said via Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. “Losing Jones, I know what he’s going through right now. He supported me when I was hurt, we’ll be here to support him.”

It will be interesting to see if the Vikings activate wide receiver Josh Doctson (hamstring) from the injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Broncos.