Update on Another Injured Vikings Cornerback
First, Mekhi Blackmon encountered an injury that will sideline him for all of 2024.
Update on Another Injured Vikings Cornerback
Soon after, newcomer Minnesota Vikings cornerback Shaquill Griffin was injured at training camp, as well, a soft-tissue ailment that shelved the veteran over the weekend.
However, Griffin’s prognosis isn’t as grim as Blackmon’s, and he’ll face a week-to-week status rather than season-ending. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Saturday that Griffin’s injury “might be a week or so … hopefully, we can get him back sooner rather than later.”
For context, these are the Vikings’ cornerbacks on the roster at the moment:
- Byron Murphy
- Shaquill Griffin (Injured)
- Mekhi Blackmon (Injured)
- Akayleb Evans
- Andrew Booth
- Duke Shelley
- NaJee Thompson
- Jaylin Williams
- A.J. Green III
- Dwight McGlothern
If the season started today, Murphy and Evans would earn starters’ jobs, with Booth and Shelley vying for CB3 and CB4, considering recent injuries.
Griffin joined the NFL as a member of the Seattle Seahawks in 2017 from the 3rd Round of the NFL Draft. Since then, he’s tabulated a Pro Bowl appearance, 366 total tackles, 64 passes defended, 7 interceptions, 3 QB hits, and 1 sack — in 89 career games, 79 of which he started.
Here’s the tale of the tape from Pro Football Focus for Griffin:
- 2017 = 65.3
- 2018 = 54.7
- 2019 = 77.0
- 2020 = 64.1
- 2021 = 72.0
- 2022 = 61.8
- 2023 = 67.0
After Khyree Jackson’s tragic passing on July 6th and Blackmon’s injury three weeks later, Griffin felt like a godsend, at least per summer roster depth. But when he, too, was injured at training camp, Vikings fans began panicking a bit because no team can really survive three meaningful CB tragedies and injuries.
Meanwhile, with or without Griffin’s speedy recovery, Minnesota is expected to pursue an impact free agent at cornerback. As of July 28th, players like Stephon Gilmore, Adoree’ Jackson, Akhello Witherspoon, and Xavien Howard remain available on the open market.
Of course, Griffin’s within-a-week recovery, as mentioned by O’Connell, would be the best-case scenario and dampen the current need for cornerback depth. However, this is the very beginning of training camp, and three cornerback losses are concerning.
Adding Duke Shelley to the roster last week could help, too.
The Vikings ranked 32nd per completion percentage allowed in 2023, making the secondary the only portion of the defense that truly struggled most of the time. The rest of the enterprise ranked 11th per DVOA last season, up 13 spots from a 24th ranking in 2022.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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