Vikings WR Injury Sparks Major Concern
The floor of the Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver room has trembled.
Concerns are mounting over a Minnesota Vikings wide receiver as questions swirl about his injury status and availability heading into the regular season.
Justin Jefferson has nursed a hamstring tweak for weeks, Jordan Addison will be suspended for three games, and Rondale Moore also blew out his knee.
Then, WR3 Jalen Nailor is battling a jammed hand. And his prognosis is simply up in the air.
Vikings WR Situation in Flux with Jalen Nailor’s Injury
The extent of Nailor’s injury should be made public before too long.
Jalen Nailor’s Injury Status Is a Mystery
Nailor injured his hand during the final week of training camp, and then didn’t play in Saturday’s preseason game, though he wouldn’t have played anyway because head coach Kevin O’Connell rested all starters.
After the game, The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis tweeted, “Kevin O’Connell was asked by Judd Zulgad about Jalen Nailor. KOC said he’s still in eval phase for the jammed hand, but KOC said the hope is that it’s not a long-term injury.”
And there you have it: eyebrows raised over Nailor. “Hoping it’s not long-term” is not exactly promising.
Hits Keep on Coming at WR
With ailments and a suspension piling up for Jefferson, Addison, Nailor, and Moore, that’s a lot of WR beef to brush off as irrelevant.
Of course, Jefferson is on track to play Week 1, Addison will be back in Week 4, and Moore wasn’t necessarily on tap for major pass-catching duty in 2025. Yet, no Nailor, in theory, might push Minnesota over the edge for WR maladies it can’t ignore.
Meanwhile, quarterback J.J. McCarthy will begin his NFL career in three weeks on the road against the Chicago Bears, and it would just feel like iffy business if the Vikings trotted out a skeleton crew at wide receiver for his maiden voyage.
Nailor No Stranger to Injuries
So, what’s the main knock on Jalen Nailor? You guessed it: injuries.
The man missed about 40% of all football games during his first two seasons, only rebounding in Year No. 3 to play all 17 games in 2024. It’s how he secured the title of WR3, delivering 6 touchdowns last season with Sam Darnold at the helm.
Normally, a player with a jammed hand might be “no big deal.” However, due to Nailor’s injury-prone reputation, onlookers must merely hold their breath and hope for the best.
Options if Nailor’s Injury Lingers
Let’s pretend Nailor’s hand injury lingers into the regular season. These free agents can be signed right now:
- Nelson Agholor
- Odell Beckham Jr.
- Tyler Boyd
- DJ Chark
- Amari Cooper
- Brandon Powell
Additionally, trade theories are applicable, with players like Adam Thielen and Trey Palmer potentially available for the right price.
Finally, dozens of wide receivers will hit the open market on August 26th when NFL teams shave their rosters by 41%. Therefore, Minnesota has options if Nailor’s injury takes a turn for the worse.
More on Nailor
PurplePTSD‘s Janik Eckardt recently wrote, “The fourth-year receiver suffering an injury is notable because he is the team’s WR3, and without Addison, he’s penciled in as a starter next to Justin Jefferson.”
“If he’s out, the franchise would suddenly look at the depth chart and pick a starter between players with (near-) zero career catches, like practice-squad veterans Thayer Thomas and Lucky Jackson, rookie Tai Felton, or potential special-teamers Tim Jones, Myles Price and Silas Bolden. A lengthy absence would pretty much force the Vikings to hire a veteran off the waiver wire, which doesn’t sound like the worst idea either way.”
It’s safe to say that most Vikings fans are at least moderately concerned about WR depth.
Eckardt continued, “Amari Cooper is a popular name, and an aging Odell Beckham Jr. is available, too. Gabe Davis is just a year removed from signing a decent deal with the Jaguars, and Nelson Agholor has consistently been a 300-yard guy. Regardless, Nailor continuously struggled with injuries in college and dragged those problems to the pros. Various injuries pretty much cost him the 2023 season, a year that was viewed as a chance for him to emerge.”
“Last year, he finally had a breakout year with over 400 yards and six touchdowns as a wingman for the top duo of Jefferson and Addison. There will probably be an update in the upcoming days, and hopefully, Speedy can make a return to the field in the near future.”
Hopefully, Nailor’s injury update returns and all is well. Otherwise, the team must recruit a standout performer from within or explore a newcomer like Amari Cooper, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Boyd, or DJ Chark.
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