The Minnesota Vikings suffered more than one kind of loss in Week 16, seeing several players go out with substantial injuries.
Edge rusher DJ Wonnum is officially out for the season after suffering a torn quad, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. And the early prognosis on top tight end T.J. Hockenson is “not good,” according to ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler, who added the Vikings are “bracing for damage”.
There has not been another update on rookie cornerback Mekhi Blackmon who left with a shoulder injury
If there is a silver lining, it is that rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison – who exited in the second quarter with an ankle injury on a play that resulted in an interception – appears to have avoided the worst.
“Jordan Addison is considered week-to-week with an ankle sprain, source said, pending further testing today,” Rapoport said in a post on X on December 25. “That info comes today.”
62 catches.
824 yards.
9 TDs.
@espn_jordan has not disappointed in his rookie season for the @vikings.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell indicated all three of Addison, Hockenson, and Wonnum would need further evaluation during his postgame presser.
Addison finished the game with one reception for two yards on four targets.
Jordan Addison Proved Himself to Justin Jefferson, Vikings
GettyJordan Addison #3 and Justin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings leaned on the rookie during star wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s absence. Addison wound up disproving some of their preconceived notions about him according to Jefferson.
“He grew tremendously,” Jefferson said via the team on December 21. “He had to step into a role that we wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to take or not. But I feel like he did a tremendous job by just being that No. 1 role, making plays for us that we didn’t think that he would be able to make.”
Addison hauled in 35 of 53 targets for 435 yards and four touchdowns in the seven games Jefferson missed.
He had a career-high 111 yards and two scores on six grabs in Week 15.
Addison was the No. 23 overall pick of the 2023 draft out of USC, the last of four consecutive wide receivers selected in the first round this cycle. He has 63 receptions for 826 yards and nine touchdowns on 95 targets.
The former Trojan star is just the fourth Vikings rookie to haul in at least 60 passes. Addison joins Jefferson, Percy Harvin, and Randy Moss on that list, per Stathead. He is the sixth to amass at least 800 receiving yards and the third with at least nine scores.
Moss is the only other receiver on all three of those lists.
That underscores just what Addison has done with two games remaining, granting he can suit up again this season.
Vikings Lose Wild Card Spot, Need Help From NFC West Foes
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
“Fell out of a wild-card spot and now need the Rams or Seahawks to lose,” the Star Tribune staff wrote on December 25. “Up next: vs. Green Bay.”
The Packers are coming off a narrow 33-30 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Minnesota won the first meeting between the two teams 24-10 on the road in Lambeau Field. But they had Kirk Cousins under center. They also caught a 2-4 Packers team that has gone 5-3 since that contest. The Vikings are 3-4 in that span, riding a three-game losing streak.
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NFL Insider Offers Injury Update on Vikings’ Jordan Addison