Minnesota Vikings: How shutting down facilities might impact Week 4

The Minnesota Vikings have been forced to shut down their facilities.

In a season that has already been filled with struggles and disappointment, the Minnesota Vikings are now dealing with another wrinkle going into Week 4 of the 2020 NFL season this weekend.

Leading up to the weekend slate of games in the league and as teams around the NFL prepare for competition over the weekend, Minnesota had an unexpected issue pop up that might put a halt to that preparation for the time being.

On Tuesday, the NFL released a statement that the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings have closed team facilities following the Titans reporting a total of eight positive COVID-19 cases within the organization. The Titans and Vikings played in Minneapolis in Week 3 last weekend, with Tennessee coming away with a 31-30 victory at US Bank Stadium.

As a result, the NFL announced both Tennessee and Minnesota have suspended in-person club activities starting Tuesday. Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported the Vikings will shut down their team facility at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday and it is “unclear when they’ll be able to return to practice this week.”

According to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, a total of three Titans players and five new personnel have tested positive for COVID-19. Exactly who those players and personnel are could impact things to some extend for the Vikings, who reported they had no positive tests as resent as Monday.

While trying to prepare for a Week 4 contest on the road against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, which you assume is still up in the air in terms of it will happen, the shutdown of Minnesota’s facility will impact its preparation during the upcoming game.

Impact of the Minnesota Vikings shutting down facilities in Week 4.

The biggest concern is obviously the health and safety of the Vikings players, coaches and team personnel and keeping them safe throughout the week and beyond. But in terms of the game, this might impact Minnesota in trying to get into the win column in Week 4 this weekend.

The first thing that arrises is the fact that the Vikings wouldn’t be able to hold practices and scheme for how they will battle against the Texans this weekend, if that game indeed still happens. Perhaps now more than ever, Minnesota needs all the time together that it can get to try and climb out of an 0-3 hole early on in the regular season.

If the Vikings end up having any players our team personnel return positive COVID cases, like has been the case with the Titans who played in Minneapolis last Sunday, then you wonder just how much this will impact Minnesota not only this weekend in Week 4 but beyond.

The first positive out of all of this is that the Vikings reported they had no positive COVID-19 cases or results as recent as Tuesday morning, but the facilities will still be shut down for the time being to make sure.

Minnesota ultimately hopes it will be able to stay healthy and continue to prepare for an important Week 4 matchup on the road against Houston to try and right the ship at the quarter mark of the regular season schedule. But the lack of practice time or time together to be able to do that might impact the Vikings’ preparation going into the weekend until they are able to get back together, you hope, this week.