Tag: Adam Thielen

Vikings offense set to get star receiver back at the right time 

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring in Week 7 while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions.

The bye week is here for the Minnesota Vikings, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The team has won six of their last seven games, and four of their last five without their star receiver.

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, and tried to come back too early against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. The Vikings have played well without Thielen, but there have been moments his absence has limited the offense. 

During the recording of Under Center on Monday Morning with Kirk Cousins and Mark Rosen, Cousins said the team will be getting its receiver back when the team travels to Seattle. 

While Thielen has been a go-to target for Cousins, and proven that he is a top ten receiver in the NFL, other names have stepped up in his absence. 

The Vikings wouldn’t be sitting at 8-3 if it wasn’t for the recent explosion of the tight end position. Both Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. have made big play after big play. Bisi Johnson has proven he is a legitimate third wide receiver and Stefon Diggs has continued to gash defenses with his elite route running. The pass catching group has proven that they can hold their own, even without one of the leagues best over the last five weeks. 

Not only did the receivers prove they have more depth than originally believed, but the running back tandem of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison have proven that they are one of the top one-two punches in the league. The two have combined for 1, 411 yards, providing one of the most balanced attacks in the NFL. 

Adding Thielen back into this mix, alongside a quarterback that has entered the MVP conversation, is a recipe for even more success for the Vikings offense. In the Mike Zimmer era, the team has prided itself of a strong defense. The defense will need to continue to improve, but it looks as if the offense is the strong suit to the 2019 Vikings.

Vikings WR Stefon Diggs is on pace for a career-high in yards

There was a time when Vikings wide Stefon Diggs was an unhappy guy with Minnesota’s offense. 

There was a time when Vikings wide Stefon Diggs was an unhappy guy with Minnesota’s offense.

That mood has shifted with Diggs’ performances lately and with the team winning six of its last seven games.

On the season, Diggs has 46 catches for 880 yards and five touchdowns. That puts him on pace for 66 catches for a career-high 1,280 yards and seven touchdowns.

After finishing with five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s comeback win over the Broncos, Diggs already has five 100-yard games this season with five games remaining.

Diggs has been a boom or bust player for the Vikings this season. If he hasn’t had 100 or more yards, he hasn’t eclipsed the 50-yard mark once. But just having Diggs as a threat, especially with Adam Thielen hurt, is big for this Vikings team.

Per Pro Football Focus, Diggs has a 78.7 player grade, a mark that rnaks 17th in the league.

Vikings hit bye week at good time

The Vikings go into their bye week having won five of six games, but the injury bug has bit them hard.

The Vikings moved to 8-3 on the season with their comeback 27-23 win over the Broncos on Sunday.

While Minnesota has won five of its last six games, the fact that the Vikings have their bye in Week 12 comes at a pretty good time.

The Vikings were missing Adam Thielen (hamstring), Linval Joseph (knee), Anthony Harris (knee) and Josh Kline (concussion) against the Broncos and All-Pro safety Harrison Smith (hamstring) left the game and did not return.

Those player now have two weeks to prepare for the Seahawks in Seattle on Dec. 2.

The Vikings, who are currently the second wild card team in the NFC standings, have quite the schedule ahead of them to close the season:

Week 13: @ Seattle
Week 14: vs. Detroit
Week 15: @ Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16: vs. Green Bay
Week 17: vs. Chicago

The win over Denver was huge for Minnesota’s playoff chances. Per FiveThirtyEight, the Vikings have a 91 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Vikings S Harrison Smith hurts hamstring, doesn’t return vs. Broncos

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

The Vikings came away with a 27-23 comeback win over the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, but it came at the expense of one of their best players getting hurt.

In the second half, Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

We can’t really speculate how severe the injury is, but Vikings fans are plenty familiar with how hamstring injuries can linger. Examples: Dalvin Cook in 2018 and Adam Thielen in 2019.

The good news is that the Vikings have a Week 12 bye so Smith will have two weeks to rest before the team travels to take on the Seahawks in Week 13.

Smith went into the week graded as Pro Football Focus‘ ninth-ranked safety in the league.

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 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.

Thielen, Joseph miss Wednesday’s Vikings practice

Both Adam Thielen and Linval Joseph missed last week’s game with a hamstring and knee injury, respectively.

The Vikings were without nose tackle Linval Joseph (knee), wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring), guard Josh Kline (concussion) and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen at Wednesday’s practice as the team prepares to take on the Broncos in Week 11.

Joseph and Thielen missed last week’s game against the Cowboys, while Kline and Stephen suffered injuries in that game.

It feels unlikely that Joseph or Thielen will play in Week 11 against the Broncos considering the Vikings have a bye in Week 12. Why not give the players an extra week off before preparing for the final five games of the season?

We’ll update you on the status of these players throughout the week.

Vikings waive WR Davion Davis

The Vikings released wide receiver Davion Davis on Tuesday. Davis was an undrafted free agent who has spent time going back and forth between the team’s active roster and practice squad. If I had to guess, the Vikings will probably try to get Davis …

The Vikings released wide receiver Davion Davis on Tuesday.

Davis was an undrafted free agent who has spent time going back and forth between the team’s active roster and practice squad.

If I had to guess, the Vikings will probably try to get Davis back on their practice squad.

The Vikings have not made a corresponding roster move, but Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press notes that it could be for Josh Doctson, who is eligible to return from the IR with a hamstring injury.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) missed Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. It feels like a good bet the Vikings would rest him in Week 11 with the team having its bye in Week 12.

It sounds like Vikings CB Trae Waynes will be back vs. Broncos

The Vikings starting cornerback was held out of Sunday night’s game with an ankle injury.

The Vikings were without cornerback Trae Waynes (ankle) in Week 10 against the Cowboys in Dallas.

Minnesota won, but did have some trouble with its pass defense.

Waynes, who by no means has been great this season, is expected to be back on Sunday against the Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“Yeah, I think we will (have him back),” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.

The Vikings have two other injuries lingering as well. Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (hamstring) and nose tackle Linval Joseph (knee) both missed Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

We don’t have a great feel on their availability quite yet, but will have a better idea this week when practices start.

It’s worth noting that the Vikings have a bye in Week 12, so if Thielen and Joseph aren’t ready to go in Week 11, they’ll have two weeks off before the team takes on the Seahawks in Week 13.