Suddenly the Vikings’ O-Line is more beat up than not (& other injury news)

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Dec 10, 2020
Image courtesy of Vikings.com

Update: https://twitter.com/christomasson/status/1337116339845083146

Former Minnesota Vikings head coach mentioned the Week 14 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as one of the best games this weekend on our new radio show on KDLM radio in Detroit Lakes/Fargo ‘The VikingsTerritory Breakdown’ for what should be obvious to fans of both teams.

After starting 1-5 the Vikings have flipped things by going 5-1. That has allowed them to sneak into the seventh playoff spot in the NFC, and to essentially control their own destiny from this point forward.

The Bucs, on the other hand, have lost three in a row and are in desperate need for a big win to show that they and their quarterback Tom Brady are the team we saw flashes of earlier this season.

The good and bad news for both teams is they both have significant injuries to multiple key players going into Sunday.

Here’s the most recent injury report:

As you’ll notice, the Bucs top two receivers are either limited or DNP’s this week in Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. That could be huge news for the Vikings who are thin at corner even if rookie Jeff Gladney also wasn’t limited (which he is/has been).

The other obvious big deal is the multiple Vikings offensive linemen that are listed as Limited Participation in Ezra Cleveland (Ankle), Garrett Bradbury (Abdomen), and Riley Reiff (Ankle). Beyond that neither Vikings starting tight ends participated in Kyle Rudolph (Foot), and Irv Smith Jr. (Back). Smith Jr. has missed the last two games due to his back injury.

The other glaring injury for the purple is Eric Kendricks who Vikes head coach Mike Zimmer said had the dreaded “Tweak” after injuring his calf minutes before the Jacksonville Jaguars game.

Ouch.

The Vikings need all hands on deck, especially as they cut both Pat Elflein and Holton Hill, and as they’ll essentially be a shoe-in for the playoffs if they can go 3-1 in their final four games. With two division games and a Christmas match-up against the Saints on the docket, the Vikes can’t afford to lose this one.

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