Alexander Mattison
The coronavirus ravaged the NFL this week, sending 37 players to the reserved protocol on Monday alone. Tuesday brought 25 more.
The Minnesota Vikings were not exempt.
Alexander Mattison, Dan Chisena, Dede Westbrook, and Kyle Hinton were the afflicted players, now slated to miss time if no negative tests are on the docket this week. And for Mattison, he is unvaccinated, per the Pioneer Press, and will be out of action for 10 days at a minimum.
Mattison, the team’s bonafide RB2, is a significant man to lose amid a playoff push. He is not the starter – that is Dalvin Cook’s gig – but Mattison provides depth and relief for Cook in games. Too, Cook is already banged up with two bad shoulders, orchestrating a mini-miracle in Week 14 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers by shredding Mike Tomlin’s team for north of 200 total yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings needed every droplet of Cook’s performance to survive a late advance from the Steelers.
So, conventional logic suggests – if Cook played against the Steelers, well, he should play at the Chicago Bears with 11 days’ worth of rest. That will probably be true. However, with no Mattison for 10 days and a suspect Cook availability because of the torn labrum(s), Minnesota is leaving a lot to chance. The RB situation is suddenly skimpy.
And that’s likely why the front office signed veteran tailback Wayne Gallman immediately after the Mattison-COVID news.
Gallman experienced playing time as Saquon Barkley’s backup in 2020 because Barkley is habitually injured. Gallman is now the Vikings contingency plan. He isn’t very prolific – but he also isn’t terrible. If called upon, Gallman is merely a standard, run-of-the-mill ball carrier.
It is unclear if Gallman will play RB2 for the Vikings in Week 15 behind Cook.
The Vikings have two other options. Mike Zimmer and his pals could roll with rookie special teams sensation Kene Nwangwu for carries, if necessary. Nwangwu is a storybook kick returner, but he looks a bit raw in the offensive backfield. His availability as RB2 isn’t ideal, yet he’d probably do the trick in relief of Cook – who rarely takes drives off (compared to other RB1s).
If not Gallman or Nwangwu, the Vikings could turn to preseason god, A.J. Rose. He’s on the Vikings practice squad and looked stupendous during the late summer. Rose was the guy who ended the Vikings dastardly no-offensive-touchdowns streak late in the preseason.
Rose looked good in exhibition – nobody knows if he’d be any good in a real game. We might find out if Cook is unable to play on Monday Night Football or if Gallman is not ready.
This is the state of the purple RB room. It’s riddled with injury and COVID strife more so than any other time this season.
Rolling with Cook and Gallman or Nwangwu will probably be just fine at Chicago. Nevertheless, if something happens to Cook between now and Monday, then things get dicey.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).