Jerick McKinnon, Kyle Rudolph Injury Updates
Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon was added to the injury report yesterday after being listed as a limited participant with a lower back injury. Although the downgrade seemed minor, mid-week additions to the injury report can be a bad sign for a player’s status that week, so it was important to check on his practice status today. McKinnon is indeed back at practice, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Matt Vensel reports Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer stated that his rookie running back is “fine”.
You can lock him up as a full go against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and McKinnon should have a big game ahead of him. He’ll most likely be listed probable on the injury report, but he’s essentially a lock to play. McKinnon has been thoroughly impressive this season, as he’s much less raw than expected and is averaging an excellent five yards per carry with about 50 rushing yards per contest to his credit.
The Vikings will also have Kyle Rudolph on the field this week, as Vensel also passes along (same tweet as linked above) that Zimmer expects Rudolph to play. It’s clear that the Vikings are playing coy with Rudolph’s status and are trying to keep things as ambiguous as possible, but the jig is up now. Even though he only said “expects”, it’s pretty obvious that Rudolph has always been ready to play, as he’s already missed several weeks with a groin injury. He’s made good progress throughout the practice week, and it always made sense to bring him back against the rival Chicago Bears following the Week 10 bye. Rudolph should really help the offense, as I’m sure Norv Turner has big plans for Teddy Bridgewater’s safety valve.