Kevin O’Connell Provides Updates on Injured Vikings
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings began their first of two joint practice sessions alongside the New England Patriots.
These practices are among the most valuable parts of training camp as it allows players to get as close to real football snaps against a different team while also getting a chance to simulate certain scenarios.
Ahead of Wednesday’s joint practice with New England, head coach Kevin O’Connell provided an update on a few injured Vikings. Here’s what we know.
Vikings Injury Updates
WR Justin Jefferson
Justin Jefferson has been held out of most training camp activities to this point due to a hamstring injury. O’Connell said the star receiver will not participate in these joint practices this week because of that injury.
Luckily, it seems to be preventative measures at this point, which makes sense considering Jefferson missed a large chunk of the 2023 season due to a similar injury. Considering the Vikings will be without Jordan Addison for the first three weeks of the season, they cannot afford to have that happen again.
“He’s definitely progressing and doing a great job there,” O’Connell said of Jefferson. “We hope to kind of reassess early next week and see if we can maybe start building on that workload, but he’s been fantastic through these couple weeks, and I expect that to continue.”
DT Levi Drake Rodriguez
Levi Drake Rodriguez exited the first preseason game against the Houston Texans due to an ankle injury, and it sounds like the second-year defender still isn’t quite back to 100% heading into this week.
Rodriguez is fully in the mix for a reserve DT spot behind the trio of Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Harrison Phillips, and he’s arguably been the most impressive of the players behind them. O’Connell did leave the door open for him to play in Saturday’s preseason game, but his roster spot should be secure whether he is out there or not.
“Levi Drake Rodriguez [had] a little ankle coming out of the game, small ankle thing, but we want to see what his availability will be like for the rest of the week on into the game Saturday,” O’Connell said.
S Harrison Smith
Harrison Smith was held out of Wednesday’s practice due to an illness.
The veteran safety is a stalwart presence in Minnesota’s secondary, and heading into what may very well be the 36-year-old’s final season, the Vikings want to make sure they aren’t overworking him.
Other Injuries
FB C.J. Ham and OLB Andrew Van Ginkel are both being held out of joint practices as well.
Ham, one of the longtime Vikings on this current roster, has fulfilled a steady role in the backfield as a blocker and occasional pass catcher for the offense. Ham had been dealing with an ankle injury heading into the preseason opener, and he played three snaps against the Texans.
Van Ginkel was a standout presence for Minnesota’s defense last season doing a little bit of everything between sacking quarterbacks, stopping the run, and picking off passes that were returned for touchdowns.
It’s unclear exactly what is hindering the duo based on O’Connell’s comments.
“C.J, Ham and Andrew Van Ginkel [are] dealing with a couple things health-wise. I want to let them settle down over the next week,” O’Connell said.
Hopefully, the lack of info means the two are just feeling fatigued from the long haul of training camp, and they will be back on the field soon.
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