Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are the Vikings players who are inactive for the game against the Browns:
Minnesota can get its season back on track against Cleveland this week.
The Vikings are 1-2 after a victory over the Seahawks in Week 3. Minnesota’s retooled defense stepped up against the Seattle offense. According to Mike Zimmer, that was the best offensive performance that he’s seen in the eight years that he’s been here (H/T ESPN’s Courtney Cronin).
Now, Minnesota could use another good performance in Week 4. Here are the players who will be out for the game:
See the Vikings Thursday injury report for this week:
Minnesota can turn things around against Cleveland this week.
The Vikings suffered two consecutive defeats, both of which came in gut-punching fashion. The team then surprised some people, bouncing back against the Seahawks to win in Week 3.
Do you want to get a good idea of who will be available for the Vikings this week? See Minnesota’s Thursday injury report down below:
Ihmir Smith-Marsette suffered a toe injury and is questionable to return.
The Vikings may be without one of their key special teams players for the game against the Seahawks.
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who also returns kicks for the team, suffered a toe injury. He is questionable to return to the Week 3 matchup.
Smith-Marsette was tabbed as a promising college prospect. However, he did not light up the stat sheet at Iowa, so he ended up going in the fifth-round. So far, he’s been a nice special teams ace for the Vikings.
Without him, Minnesota could opt to use Ameer Abdullah in the return game. The Vikings signed Abdullah to the active roster in the week leading up to the game against the Seahawks. At the time this article was published, Minnesota led Seattle 24-17. The Vikings had a nice drive at the end of the first half, which was capped off when QB Kirk Cousins found Justin WR Jefferson in the end zone.
The Vikings have revealed some special teams news.
The Vikings’ decision to sign Dede Westbrook this offseason made sense. Not only can Westbrook potentially be a wide receiver three, but he has also served as a good punt returner in the past.
If you read the headline, you probably know where I’m going with this. Mike Zimmer revealed on Friday that Dede Westbrook will be the team’s No. 1 punt returner.
Will Ragatz of Sports Illustrated reported that Ihmir Smith-Marsette will return kicks. Smith-Marsette earning a spot in the return game seemed likely after he performed well in the preseason and was listed as the No. 1 kick returner on the unofficial depth chart recently.
With Jordan Berry at punter, Greg Joseph at kicker and Andrew DePaola at long snapper, the Vikings have solidified their main special teams positions for now. Last year, the Vikings struggled in pretty much every aspect of special teams, which led to personnel turnover for this season. Let’s see if anything changes throughout 2021.
See the stock up, stock down from the Vikings’ preseason loss to the Colts.
The Vikings have something to build off of after the defeat to the Colts.
Minnesota ultimately fell in what was an ugly game on Saturday. However, the Vikings defense looked way better than it did in the opener. There are some players whose stock rose on offense, defense and special teams.
There are also some Vikings players whose stock dropped. Here is the full stock report from Minnesota’s second consecutive preseason loss at U.S. Bank Stadium:
“He’s going to be a good player,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said of the rookie.
Earlier in training camp, Mike Zimmer had a quote that was critical of Ihmir Smith-Marsette, saying that if the rookie wideout wants to make the team, he has to improve on special teams.
Now, though, Zimmer has more positive things to say about the fifth-round pick:
“He’s going to be a good player,” Zimmer said, via Arif Hasan of The Athletic. “I’m trying to get him better on special teams because he’s going to have that role. He’s still going to have to do better there.”
On Thursday, Smith-Marsette had a nice touchdown reception, courtesy of a throw from Jake Browning. The rookie wide receiver seems like he could make for solid depth at wide receiver, especially with the injuries that position group has already suffered.
Going forward, he just has to work on special teams, in order to be a complete player. That would make Zimmer happy, at least.
Vikings rookie wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette has to get better on special teams, according to Mike Zimmer.
The Vikings went into the 2021 NFL draft with an obvious need at wide receiver. At the time, the team had Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, then a pretty significant drop off on the wide receiver depth chart.
Despite that, Minnesota didn’t draft a wideout until the fifth round when it nabbed Iowa product Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Though he had some question marks in regards to his potential NFL success, Smith-Marsette possessed good tools, which left Vikings fans wondering whether he could be the team’s wide receiver.
Well, Mike Zimmer had a quote that suggested Smith-Marsette has a chance of missing the roster. Zimmer said Smith-Marsette has to improve on special teams.
“If he wants to make the team, that’s part of his job description,” Zimmer told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
There are a lot of different things people can glean from this quote. Is Zimmer just trying to light a fire under Smith-Marsette or is the rookie actually in danger of not making the team?
Right now, it’s hard to say. But with the addition of Dede Westbrook, Smith-Marsette’s success isn’t as dire for the team. It would still help the Vikings if Smith-Marsette did enough to make the team — on special teams and offense.
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Here is what former Vikings LB Ben Leber thinks of the two rookies.
Minnesota has done a great job of drafting running backs and wideouts recently.
The Vikings have taken running backs Jerick McKinnon, Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, all of whom have panned out into at least decent players.
Sure, Minnesota whiffed on Laquon Treadwell, but the team also has nabbed stellar wideouts Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson.
This year, the Vikings took another running back and another wide receiver. Minnesota landed RB Kene Nwangwu in the fourth round and followed that up with WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the fifth.
Ben Leber, a former Vikings linebacker and NFL current analyst, thinks the two rookies have quite a bit in common:
“They both come from college cultures that they were never the true focal point. And I think you’re finding guys that are OK with the grind and are OK playing the role,” Leber said, per Vikings.com. “I don’t think that you’re going to see [Nwangwu] try to come in and be shocked by the fact that, ‘Hey, Dalvin’s the guy.'”
Nwangwu is thought of to be more of a special teams player. He was a stellar kick returner for Iowa State in college. But maybe he can be more than that.
Smith-Marsette enters a very different position group. Due to the workload of Cook and Mattison, the third running back might not have a massive role in the offense. The third wide receiver, however, will be on the field quite a bit.
Besides Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, the Vikings don’t have positional strength at wideout, leaving a big role up for grabs. So Smith-Marsette and Nwangwu might be similar in that they’re OK with the grind, but Nwangwu might have to put in more of an effort to see the field a ton.
Here are some Vikings players to watch for 2021 training camp.
The Vikings are entering into one of the more interesting training camps in recent memory.
Minnesota revamped its defense through 2021 free agency. That group will almost certainly be better than it was in 2020.
There are also some interesting rookies to keep an eye on. Despite a deep roster, it’s likely that the Vikings will have to utilize some first-year players in pretty big roles.
Here is one player to watch at each offensive position group at Vikings training camp:
Who do you think will be the Vikings’ best rookie in the 2021 season?
In 2020, Minnesota saw a plethora of key contributors depart in the offseason. That led to the Vikings having to replace older veterans with younger, more inexperienced talent.
For instance, Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes both signed with other NFL teams. Cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney had to step up in their first NFL seasons.
There was also wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Minnesota traded Diggs in the offseason. Then, the Vikings used one of the picks they acquired in the trade to land Justin Jefferson.
Despite promising starts from players like offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland and Dantzler, I think it’s safe to say Jefferson was the Vikings’ top rookie in 2020.
Who will be the team’s best rookie in 2021? From OL Christian Darrisaw to DL Jalen Twyman, there are plenty of enticing options. There are some interesting rookies from this class who could thrive in the long term, but this question is only based on how each player will perform in 2021.
What do you think, Vikings fans?
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