Courtesy of Vikings The offensive guard play negatively impacted the entire offensive line this season.
The Vikings offensive and defensive line groups could be at risk of missing several players ahead of their NFC North primetime matchup on Monday Night Football with the Chicago Bears after a positive test result was announced on Sunday.
Offensive lineman Dru Samia tested positive for coronavirus, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported, prompting intensive contract tracing as anyone who is “deemed high risk” will not be allowed to travel to Chicago for the game on Monday.
Any player deemed high risk could produce negative test results but will still not be allowed to travel, per Pelissero.
The Vikings left for Chicago on Sunday with the majority of their team as only Samia, defensive end Jordan Brailford, who was ruled out for “personal” reasons, along with rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler who has not played since suffering a concussion against the Packers.
Assistant offensive line coach Phil Rausher also did not travel on Sunday.
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Linemen in the Clear, For Now
Samia, who practiced all week, likely was in close contact with many of his teammates given the nature of linemen play, putting the status of both the offensive and defensive lines in jeopardy at minimum, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin said.
“Would imagine there being more than a couple players deemed close contacts given the nature of the O-line/D-line play. Going to be an important situation to monitor given the Vikings are planning to leave today for Chicago,” Cronin tweeted on Sunday.
The Vikings, who released fourth-year offensive lineman Pat Elflein on Friday, will at least have to plan to replace Samia on the active roster as practice squad linemen Brett Jones was elevated to the 53-man roster on Sunday.
Samia started four games for the Vikings before a wrist injury thrust rookie Ezra Cleveland into the starting right guard spot. Cleveland has performed well to maintain his starting role, which led to the release of Elflein.
The Vikings have one more hurdle as the team will have to take tests before Monday’s game at Soldier Field, however, the team appears to have dodged a bullet.
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Trevor Squire is a Heavy contributor covering the Minnesota Vikings and journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. Connect with him on Twitter @trevordsquire and join our Vikings community at Heavy on Vikings on Facebook.