Tag: vikingswire

Throughout the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings have had plenty of instability at offensive coordinator. Gear up for more of that heading into the 2021 season.
Gary Kubiak, Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in 2020, has made his retirement official, the team announced Thursday.
I’ll miss the competition, the planning, game days, and being part of a team, but, more than anything, I’ll cherish the friendships I’ve made along the way with players, coaches, and staff. I love the game of football and will forever be its biggest fan, Former Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
Kubiak was hired by the Vikings as an offensive assistant for the 2019 season. Before that, most notably, he won the Super Bowl as head coach of the Broncos.
Kubiak’s retirement means the Vikings will have to find a sixth offensive coordinator during Zimmer’s time with the team

After finishing with eight receptions in Sunday’s loss to the Bears, Justin Jefferson now has 73 receptions in his rookie season with the Vikings through Week 15.
That breaks Randy Moss’ team rookie record of 69 receptions that he posted in 1998.
Jefferson will surely add to his total and probably have more than 80 receptions by the time he plays the final two games of the season.
Moss finished his rookie season with 1,313 receiving yards. Jefferson currently has 1,177 receiving yards, just 136 away from hitting that record.
Assuming both he and Kirk Cousins can stay healthy, that seems probable

For the first time in his career, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for his efforts in the month of November.
In five November games, Cook ran for 641 yards (128.2 yards per game) and six touchdowns. He also added 17 catches for 191 yards and another touchdown.
Cook injured his ankle in Week 12 against the Panthers, but looks good to go in Week 13 against a Jaguars team that ranks 29th in rushing yards allowed this season.
Cook is the first Viking to win the award since Kirk Cousins did so in October of last season

Minnesota has activated wide receiver Adam Thielen off the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Wednesday.
“I think he’ll be ready to go,” Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer said of Thielen, via the Vikings’ Twitter account.
On Sunday, the Vikings did well in the passing game without Thielen, but the wide receiver is still the team’s best option in the red zone. Thielen has 11 touchdown receptions and 646 receiving yards in 2020.
Justin Jefferson still had a good day against the Panthers, going for seven receptions and 70 receiving yards. However, Thielen and him make for a menacing wide receiver duo and could help the passing game overall

The Vikings have placed wide receiver Adam Thielen on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced on Monday.
As always, players who are put on the list don’t necessarily have the virus; they may have just been exposed to it.
Thielen is coming off a game against the Cowboys where he had 123 receiving yards and two touchdown grabs. One of the touchdown grabs was a one-handed catch.
Minnesota has other receiving targets — Justin Jefferson and Irv Smith Jr. to name a few — but none have been as good near the red zone this season as Thielen.
There’s no telling whether he will be out for the Week 12 game against the Panthers, but his hypothetical absence would certainly hurt the team

The Vikings will reportedly be without defensive end Danielle Hunter for the duration of the 2020 season.
Per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Hunter is having surgery to clean up a herniated disc, which means he will be done for the year.
At 25, Hunter became the youngest player to 50 sacks in the NFL in 2019. Before this year, he tallied 14.5 sacks in two consecutive seasons.
With Yannick Ngakoue gone, Hunter hypothetically walking leaves Minnesota with very few good options at the defensive end position down the road