Latest Injury Report Not Ideal for One Viking
When the Minnesota Vikings take on Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons, veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore will likely miss the showdown.
Latest Injury Report Not Ideal for One Viking
Thursday’s practice came and went without Gilmore’s participation, a sign he’ll miss the Week 14 tilt.
Gilmore injured his hamstring in a win over the Arizona Cardinals last weekend, and it seems the Vikings will take his recovery cautiously. Minnesota has a 10-2 record through 13 weeks, firmly positioned to reach the playoffs and with hope of clinching a spot this Sunday or next.
After the one-point triumph on Sunday, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted, “Kevin O’Connell said he is hoping the Vikings avoided a longer-term hamstring injury for CB Stephon Gilmore by holding him out after he suffered it.”
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling added, “Kevin O’Connell said Stephon Gilmore was thinking about coming back in, but the Vikings kept him out with his left hamstring injury. He’s hopeful Gilmore won’t be out long. Right knee injury for Pat Jones II, who returned.”
While Gilmore’s injury is not considered terribly significant or long-term, he is trending to miss Sunday’s game. He’ll certainly need to practice Friday to have a shot at Week 14, and he probably would’ve done so by now.
So, what will Minnesota do defensively sans Gilmore? Probably a combo player of veteran Fabian Moreau, who filled in for Gilmore last weekend, and undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern. Against the Cardinals, the Moreau experiment quickly went pear-shaped. He was called for two crucial defensive pass interference penalties — one of them bogus — while Marvin Harrison Jr. torched him for a touchdown. But one game doesn’t define a player; he’s an experienced defender who could bounce back.
Moreau should get the start if Gilmore is on the shelf, but don’t rule out McGlothern for Week 14 action. Head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about Nudie — that’s McGlothern’s nickname — this week: “We’ve got ‘Nudie’ on the practice squad, or I should say Dwight McGlothern. But we’ve got him at any point in time, that we’ve had clearly we have a lot of confidence in.”
O’Connell said, “We’ll see,” on McGlothern possibly getting the nod against the Falcons, a decision likely up to Flores, the almighty defensive architect.
Flores heaped praise on McGlothern in the summer. “Nudie’s done a real nice job. We liked a lot of things about him, as well, coming out. Ball skills would be the first thing that comes to mind,” Flores told reporters about Nudie in early August. “He’s a guy who’s just got a knack and a feel for being around the ball when it’s in the air. Obviously he’s got height and length and speed, but the instincts are the thing that jumped out to me and us as a staff. There’s a lot to like about Nudie.”
The Vikings also signed CB Kelvin Joseph from free agency to the practice squad, a 2nd-Rounder from the 2021 NFL Draft.
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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