Oct 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Vikings fan among Denver Broncos fans in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Vikings 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports.
Some Minnesota Vikings fans believe linebacker Blake Cashman is the straw that stirs the drink on defense.
Why? Well, the moment he injured his toe, the defense tumbled in games against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, only recovering last week on Sunday Night Football versus the Indianapolis Colts.
So, folks have intently monitored Cashman’s injury recovery — but it may not be going swimmingly.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson commented on Cashman’s status this week while chatting with SKOR North: “It has gone on longer than anyone anticipated. There is frustration. There’s no doubt about that. I’m told ‘week-to-week.’ It’s possible he’s back this week, but going back to October 7, if I told the Vikings, ‘Blake is not going to be back by Week 9,’ they would have said, ‘You are nuts.'”
All told, Cashman has missed three games, and Minnesota has a 1-2 record in those contests.
“There’s toughness there that has carried Blake this far. Trust me, if Blake could be out there, he would be out there,” Wolfson added.
Cashman is suffering from turf toe, a notoriously lingering injury that takes a while to heal fully. The Vikings are experiencing that reality in living color.
A couple of weeks ago, head coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t sound too worried about Cashman’s long-term prognosis. “He’ll be kind of day-to-day, week-to-week as he deals with that, O’Connell said. “We really don’t know yet, but don’t think it will be a long-term injury, with IR or anything involved in that,” the young skipper said before Week 7.
“We’ll just hopefully have him work through it and get back on the field as soon as possible. Don’t really know about his status for this week. We’ll see if he can get some limited work in throughout the week and maybe have a chance to go.”
And for perspective, those O’Connell thoughts were logged three weeks ago. Day-to-day has turned emphatically to week-to-week.
If Cashman cannot play Sunday at the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota would again turn to reserve linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, who has played decently in 2024. The Vikings also have third-year defender Brian Asamoah ready and willing to contribute, though the Oklahoma alumnus never really sees defensive action.
This is the rather wild odyssey of Minnesota’s defense through eight games:
Vikings Defense,
NFL Ranking,
per EPA/Play:
Week 1-5: 1st
Week 6-8: 28th
Week 9: 1st
All things Cashman will turn to Wednesday’s initial injury report. A “DNP” would spell more of the same.
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.