Tag: Minnesota Vikings

Broncos injuries: Heuerman and James doubtful to play Sunday

Broncos tight end Jeff Heuerman (knee) and offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James (knee) are doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Vikings.

The Denver Broncos are placing cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot) on injured reserve. The team considers tight end Jeff Heuerman (knee) and offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James (knee) doubtful to play Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

If Heuerman is inactive this week, Troy Fumagalli and Andrew Beck will likely get more snaps than usual at tight end. If James is inactive, Elijah Wilkinson will fill in again at right tackle.

The Broncos’ complete injury report can be seen below. DNP = did not participate. N/L = not listed. IR = injured reserve.

Player Injury Wed Thur Fri Status
CB Bryce Callahan Foot DNP DNP DNP IR
TE Jeff Heuerman Knee Limited Limited Limited Doubtful
OT Ja’Wuan James Knee Limited Limited Limited Doubtful
CB Duke Dawson Foot Full Full Full
RB Phillip Lindsay Wrist Full Full Full
DB Will Parks Hand Full Full Full
DE DeMarcus Walker Shoulder Full Full Full
WR DaeSean Hamilton Knee N/L Limited Limited Questionable

The Minnesota Vikings’ complete injury report can be seen below.

Player Injury Wed Thur Fri Status
DT Linval Joseph Knee DNP DNP DNP Out
OG Josh Kline Concussion DNP DNP DNP Out
DT Shamar Stephen Knee DNP Full Full
WR Adam Thielen Hamstring DNP DNP DNP Out
CB Mackensie Alexander Groin Limited Full Full
DB Anthony Harris  Groin Limited DNP DNP Out
OL Brett Jones Knee Limited DNP IR IR
DB Andrew Sendejo Groin Limited Limited Limited Questionable
CB Trae Waynes Ankle Limited Full Full
FB C.J. Ham Ankle Full Full Full
LB Eric Kendricks Hip Full Full Full
DE Ifeadi Odenigbo Shoulder Full Full Full
CB Xavier Rhodes Elbow Full Full Full
DT Armon Watts Elbow Full Full Full

Sunday’s game will air on CBS at 11:00 a.m. MT (view the TV map here).

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Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay: ‘I don’t fear anybody’

Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay aims to help his team get an upset win over the Vikings in Week 11.

On paper, the 3-6 Broncos look overmatched on the road against the 7-3 Vikings this week (oddsmakers consider them 10.5-point underdogs). Anything can happen in the NFL, though.

Denver running back Phillip Lindsay pointed out Wednesday that the Falcons defeated the Saints last week despite Atlanta having just one win going into the game and New Orleans having just one loss.

“We just play ball,” Lindsay said when asked about being an underdog. “This is the NFL, any given Sunday you can be beaten. That’s been proven all around the NFL, you guys saw the game with the Saint and Atlanta. It doesn’t matter. We’re all grown men and we’re all talented. It’s about executing.”

In terms of points allowed, Minnesota has the fifth-best defense in the league this year, allowing an average of just 18.2 points per contest. Those numbers aren’t intimidating to Lindsay, though.

“They’re a tough defense, they’re tough and they’re solid,” Lindsay said. “I wouldn’t sit here and say they’re greatest on earth, they’re beatable like anybody else, but we’ve got to play solid football. For me personally, I don’t fear anybody and that’s how it should be. It’s football. At the end of the day, we go out there and you handle your business, you make people miss, you score touchdowns and you win games. That’s how it goes.”

Sunday’s game will air on CBS at 11:00 a.m. MT (view the TV map here).

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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.

Broncos OLB Von Miller a big fan of Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

“[I] was trying to get this guy here, had a whole campaign to get this guy here two years ago,” Von Miller said of Kirk Cousins.

The Broncos will travel to Minnesota in Week 11 to face the Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who outside linebacker Von Miller tried to recruit to Denver in 2018. Cousins instead signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings and the Broncos signed Case Keenum to a two-year, $36 million deal.

“Kirk Cousins, [I] was trying to get this guy here, had a whole campaign to get this guy here two years ago,” Miller said Thursday. “You know how I feel about him. I think he’s a great quarterback.”

Cousins’ contract with Minnesota is guaranteed and the QB has faced some criticism for his numbers not living up to his contract. Cousins threw 10 interceptions last year and lost seven fumbles. The Vikings finished the season 8-7-1, a disappointment after reaching the NFC Championship game in 2017.

Miller doesn’t think it’s completely fair to judge Cousins based on his contract, though.

“Sometimes you can’t really go off of contracts,” Miller said. “Some of these contracts are off timing and opportunity. In the NFL if it’s right for you, then boom. You can’t really just go off of that, but he’s playing — in my eyes, he’s playing well for their team.”

Cousins is arguably performing at a higher level this year than he was last season. The 31-year-old QB has thrown just three interceptions through 10 games and has helped Minnesota to a 7-3 record. Miller knows Cousins will be a tough test for Denver’s defense on Sunday.

“He’s got their team in contention to go to the playoffs and do some stuff after that,” Miller said. “In my eyes he’s playing great.”

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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.