OLB D.J. Wonnum had to leave on the medical cart with an apparent left knee injury
Minnesota Vikings edge rusher and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum leaves the game with an apparent left knee injury. Unfortunately, it may have been a non-contact injury as he injured himself as he planted to make a pass-rush move up the field. The medical cart was brought out to take him off the field.
D.J. Wonnum was having one of his best seasons since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft out of the University of South Carolina. Wonnum has 58 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits and 8.0 total sacks in the first 14 games this season.
With this injury, the Vikings will have to rely on Pat Jones III and possibly rookie Andre Carter II to make up the production. Wonnum is the third Vikings to be ruled out as he joins wide receiver Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more live game updates.
The Minnesota Vikings released the inactives list for Sunday’s week six game against the Chicago Bears
The Minnesota Vikings have released their inactives for Sunday’s week six matchup with the Chicago Bears.
S Lewis Cine
OLB Andre Carter II
TE Nick Muse
OT Hakeem Adeniji
DL Jaquelin Roy
This is Cine’s third game inactive after suffering a hamstring injury against the Los Angeles Chargers in week three. Considering he was removed from the injury report, this would be a healthy scratch.
Carter has played in one game thus far and got three pressures in 13 pass rush reps against the Carolina Panthers.
Muse has yet to be active this season after making the roster this year.
Adeniji was signed to the active roster last week but was signed for depth purposes. Not a surprise to see him inactive.
Roy being inactive is a slight surprise. In his place is Khyiris Tonga who has for some reason been inactive for the last five games.
Despite going undrafted, Carter was a highly-sought after undrafted free agent. The Vikings eventually won the sweepstakes by giving him $340,000 guaranteed, one of the largest deals given to an undrafted rookie.
Carter attended Army West Point and shined as a junior, posting 15.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in 2021. Carter battled some injuries during his senior season, playing in just ten games, but still posted seven tackles for loss.
Standing tall at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 256 pounds, Carter lacks the frame of an NFL pass rusher, but his lack of experience means that with some time in an NFL weight room, he can turn it all around. Carter was one of the most athletically-gifted pass rushers in the draft, and many thought he could hear his name called during the later rounds of the draft.
Carter has some work to do to earn a 53-man roster spot, but his return to the practice field is an encouraging sign.
There were no big-money name, image, and likeness deals at Army West Point. In fact, the university overlooking the Hudson River had no N.I.L. deals because cadets are considered employees of the United States Government.
“That’s something that you look at and like, okay, yeah, that would be nice,” Carter said about NIL. “But we’re [at Army] for different reasons, you know, we’re not there for the money or anything like that. We’re there to get a great education, play football, beat Navy, beat Air Force. And then, serve this great country.”
Army’s schedule also varied from most FBS programs. While cadets still attended class and practiced football, there were “military things” that made life at West Point different.
“Earlier in the summer times with the summer training, we’re losing 20-30 pounds, the beginning each summer, during the military training, that’s something that doesn’t happen in other places,” Carter said. “And then, during the school year, we’ll have formations in the morning at lunch. And then when we return on the weekends, where everybody just gets up, and you get accountability of everybody.”
After four years of that process, it’d be hard to blame Carter for having more time on his hands.
Now that Carter is in the NFL, his schedule is no different from any other player on the team. There are still the foundations of football practice, but there are no more tests or exams. And there are none of those “military things” that Carter talked about.
“Not having to do school, have to worry about school work, and that stuff, has been a big weight off my shoulders,” Carter explained. “And now, I just find myself looking for things to do because I’m not used to having all this time on my hand. I’ll get done at three, four o’clock, and have the rest of the day to myself. That’s not something that I’m used to.”
Heading to the professional ranks has also allowed Carter to help others through his status. While it’s not NIL – a concept reserved for amateur athletes in college – Carter is able to sign brand deals, something he’s already taken advantage of.
Just months after signing his first professional contract, Carter partnered with Hoist, a U.S. Military-approved hydration drink. According to Carter, partnering with a company that shares similar views to him was a focal point.
“This the first partnership that I’ve done, and coming from the coming from the Army, I feel like it’s important for me to align myself with people who are kind of like-minded,” Carter said. “Hoist is definitely that. They’ve been around, they’re approved hydration over the US military. So, since I got to West Point, the drinks had been all over the place.”
Carter first came in contact with Hoist during basic training during his freshman year. During that time, cadets mostly received water, making Hoist a welcome sight for their eyes.
“I first came in contact during Beast. And so Beast is like basic training for freshmen at the Academy,” Carter said. “I just remember the only thing we had been getting was water. And so when we finally got something other than that, it was amazing because we weren’t getting much of anything. So it was awesome. Finally getting that delicious drink.”
Through Carter’s partnership with Hoist, proceeds from online sales will go towards Team RWB, a charity focusing on the mental and physical well-being of veterans.
“That’s definitely something that is, you know, really important because once you’re done serving in the military still have a lot of life ahead of you,” Carter said. “And we got to make sure that all our veterans are taken care of, and Team RWB is doing a great job of that.”
Like other graduates of Army, Carter will have to serve when he finishes his playing career. Carter says that when he enters, he’ll be a Field Artillery Officer, a field that intrigued him.
“I’m really excited about, once I’m done playing, I’ll then commission into the Army and do my service time that I committed to doing while I was at the academy,” Carter said. “So that’s something that I’m really excited about. Getting the opportunity to lead America sons and daughters. “
Carter was guaranteed a record (outside of the La’El Collins situation) $340k for an undrafted free agent this April. He has a lot of talent as an edge rusher but is viewed as a long-term play due to having played at Army and training to be both a cadet and a football player.
Carter will be a very intriguing player to watch during training camp, as he possesses a great first step and excellent bend for his size.
The Minnesota Vikings traded Za’Darius Smith and signed Marcus Davenport to replace him. Will the production be the same in 2023?
The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle. Today, we continue profiling the Minnesota Vikings roster on the defensive side of the football.
We are currently writing player profiles on each Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.
Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the edge rushers.
The Vikings prioritized EDGE Andre Carter II as an UDFA, but is he ready to play as a rookie?
Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!
Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.
What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.
As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.
With minicamp less than a week away, there are quite a few players you should be keeping your eye on.
We are less than a week away from mandatory minicamp!
The two-day event on June 13-14 is a requirement for players across the National Football League and it will be the last time that the Minnesota Vikings take the field before training camp opens up in July.
During these practices, there is a good amount that you can take from them, especially since teams will be looking to install things on both sides of the ball. These 10 players are going to be the ones you want to keep your eye on during minicamp.
The Minnesota Vikings signed 15 undrafted free agents with seven of them having a decent shot to make the final 53-man roster.
The Minnesota Vikings added six draft picks in the 2023 NFL draft with the expectation that they all make the final 53-man roster. They also signed 15 undrafted free agents, but what are the odds that they make the roster?
With multiple holes on the roster, what odds do the undrafted free agents the Vikings signed have to make the roster? I believe that seven of them have a good chance to make it.
Here are the undrafted free agents with the best chance to make the roster and why.
The Minnesota Vikings signed 15 undrafted free agents and a few of them could make a major impact on this team.
The Minnesota Vikings did a lot of work in bringing in undrafted free agents this cycle. After only signing seven in 2022, they signed 15 in 2023, including guaranteeing the second-most money ever for an undrafted free agent to edge rusher Andre Carter II.
What does this undrafted free agent class have? Will any of them make the roster? What about potentially contributing? On the latest episode of Purple Daily on Draft, Tyler Forness and Thor Nystrom discussed just that. They focused on:
