Aug 12, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of a Minnesota Vikings helmet at Paul Brown Stadium. The Vikings won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports.
Eight games have come and gone, and Minnesota Vikings tight end Nick Muse is eligible to return.
The young tight end broke his hand in Week 2 in a win over the San Francisco 49ers, and Minnesota placed him on the shelf.
Vikings.com’s Craig Peters wrote Wednesday, “The Vikings on Wednesday announced tight end Nick Muse has returned to practice. The move opens a 21-day evaluation window for Muse, who was placed on short-term Injured Reserve on Sept. 18 after sustaining what Head Coach Kevin O’Connell described as a “small fracture” in his hand.”
It’s unclear if Muse will be available as soon as this Sunday, but it’s worth noting that Vikings TE2 Josh Oliver did not practice Wednesday and is batting an ankle sprain. If Oliver is unavailable for Sunday’s tryst at the Chicago Bears, the Vikings would lean heavily into T.J. Hockenson, Johnny Mundt, and perhaps Robert Tonyan.
With Muse’s imminent return, this is the purple TE room in full:
Former Vikings tight end N’Keal Harry recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks.
Muse, a South Carolina alumnus, has played in 14 regular season games since entering the NFL as a 7th-Round pick in 2022. He totaled 805 receiving yards in 31 games as a Gamecock from 2019 to 2021.
O’Connell told reporters after the win over San Francisco: “Want to just highlight Nick Muse, early on in the football game, he did have a small fracture in his, hand and he will … he could play, but it would require him to wear a big old cast on his hand and have that thing wrapped, so Nick’s value as a blocker and a pass catcher for us on game day, we thought it best to allow that thing to heal over the next three to four weeks.”
“He was placed on short-term IR, which will allow us to get Myles Gaskin as our third back on the roster. And then I’ll keep you guys posted about what the plan of attack is at the tight end position as the week goes on,” O’Connell added about Muse’s IR stint.
These are the Vikings’ other long-term injuries:
Muse will turn 26 on Monday.
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.