Through the first three weeks of the season the Vikings have had some of their biggest difference makers land on the injury report. Whether that was first-round pick Christian Darrisaw being held out of the first three games, or Anthony Barr missing the majority of time since early August.
Things are finally starting to look better for the Vikings in terms of getting some of those big names back on the field.
For the first time in his rookie campaign, Darrisaw goes into Sunday without having an injury designation. Instead of being ruled out on Friday, Barr is listed as questionable, meaning he still has a chance to suit up against Cleveland.
Dalvin Cook, Kris Boyd and Michael Pierce are also listed as questionable. Cook seemed optimistic in his press conference this week about playing, but that seemed to be the case last week as well. Alexander Mattison filled in admirably against Seattle but getting Cook back would only boost the offensive production.
If Pierce can’t go it would be a huge blow to a struggling Vikings run defense against one of the league’s best tandems in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Dalvin Tomlinson had a good game against the Seahawks, but Pierce’s presence would be severely missed if he’s held out of Sunday’s game.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette is the only player already ruled out, meaning it’s likely going to be Ameer Abdullah getting kick return duties.
Injuries are never going away in the NFL, but it looks as if the Vikings are starting to get some missing pieces back on both sides of the ball. There’s still a chance some of these players don’t go this Sunday, but at the very least Darrisaw and Barr are both approaching seeing meaningful playing time in the near future.
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