Vikings Defense May Be Without a Key Piece Again in Week 8
The Minnesota Vikings suffered their first loss of the 2024 season at the hands of the Detroit Lions.
The loss ended Minnesota’s perfect start to the season and gives them a record of 5-1 heading into their Week 8 game against the Los Angeles Rams. While the Vikings may still be licking their wounds from that loss, they have to regroup very quickly with this week’s matchup against the Rams being on Thursday Night Football.
However, it appears that the Vikings may be trending towards being shorthanded on the defensive side of the ball again this weekend based off Monday’s injury report.
Vikings Defense May Be Shorthanded in Week 8
The Vikings released their first injury report on Monday afternoon, and the following players were listed on it:
- LB Blake Cashman (DNP, toe)
- CB Akayleb Evans (Limited, hip)
- TE T.J. Hockenson (Limited, knee)
- RB Aaron Jones (Limited, hamstring)
- OLB Pat Jones (Limited, shoulder)
- TE Josh Oliver (Limited, wrist)
- DT Harrison Phillips (Limited, shoulder)
- S Theo Jackson (Full, hand)
- IOL Dalton Risner (Full, back)
The injury report is mostly positive for the Vikings, but once again, starting LB Blake Cashman was unable to participate because of turf toe.
The injury held Cashman out of the Week 7 loss to the Lions, thus forcing Ivan Pace to be essentially the lone linebacker on defense for the Vikings along with the Swiss Army knife who is safety Josh Metellus.
When on the field, Cashman has been a force for the Vikings this season, totaling 40 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and five passes defended. His PFF grade of 75.6 ranks ninth among 63 linebackers with at least 200 defensive snaps this season.
Cashman has proven to be the perfect replacement for Jordan Hicks, who left the Vikings this past offseason to join the Cleveland Browns while also being nearly four years younger than Hicks. If Cashman were to miss this week’s game, the Vikings will miss his pass coverage skills against a talented group of Rams pass catchers.
Luckily, it is not all bad news for the Vikings. T.J. Hockenson continues to be a limited participant in practice, and while he was unable to play this past weekend, Minnesota may have been saving the Pro Bowl tight end for this short week in an effort to keep him fresh.
Finally, Dalton Risner was a full participant in practice on Monday, indicating that he is nearing a return that could disrupt Minnesota’s interior offensive line. That interior trio of Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, and Ed Ingram have undergone some scrutiny this season, so Risner’s return could bump one of them down the depth chart.
The Vikings will release injury reports on Tuesday and Wednesday before their Thursday night battle against the Rams.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
Minnesota Vikings Snap Counts for Week 7 vs. Detroit Lions
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