Ezra Cleveland Played Through Ankle Injury Against Bears, Brett Jones in Line to Start
Vikings rookie right guard Ezra Cleveland hasn't practiced yet this week with an ankle injury and is trending towards missing Sunday's game against the Cowboys. The injury actually occurred early on in Minnesota's win over the Bears on Monday night, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak revealed on Thursday.
Update: Cleveland has been ruled OUT, while Cameron Dantzler and Irv Smith Jr. are QUESTIONABLE.
"He played hurt last week," Kubiak said. "It was impressive. He got hurt, I think on the first series of the game and plays the whole game against some great players and makes it through, so I think what we’re seeing from Ezra is, ‘Let’s just keep going.’ His response to where we’ve put him has been very, very good, so we’ll leave him there [at guard] and let him keep going."
Cleveland had a rough game in Chicago, allowing three pressures and finishing with a Pro Football Focus grade below 50 for the first time since his NFL debut against the Falcons in Week 6. However, the fact that he injured his ankle on the first series of the game would explain a lot of that. Playing against defensive tackles like Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols is a tough task for anyone, especially a rookie playing through an injury. It's a testament to Cleveland's attitude and toughness that he was able to gut it out in a big game.
Unless Cleveland is able to return to practice on Friday, it seems likely that he won't be available for Sunday afternoon's game in Minneapolis. With Pat Elflein being waived recently and Dru Samia on the Reserve/COVID list, the Vikings don't have any other true guards on the active roster. They've been working two players slightly out of position at right guard this week: backup center Brett Jones and backup right tackle Oli Udoh. If either of them get the start against the Cowboys, they'll become the Vikings' fourth right guard (joining Pat Elflein, Dru Samia, and Cleveland) in ten games.
Jones appears to be the leading candidate to replace Cleveland. The veteran Canadian is primarily a center but made three starts at guard for the Giants between 2016 and 2017. The run-blocking would take a hit with Jones replacing Cleveland since he is a far inferior athlete, but Jones has a history of being a strong pass-blocker on the interior.
"Brett’s a fine player, very bright, so you’ve got two centers side-by-side," Kubiak said. "I know he’s chomping at the bit if he does get a chance to start this week, if Ezra can’t go. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and this team loves him. He works really hard. He’s a backup player on this team, but boy, he’s a leader. Watching him run the scout team and do all the things he does, when you see a young man like that get a chance, I think you all just root for him.”
The Vikings will be hoping this is just a one-week absence at most for Cleveland, as they've been encouraged by his four-game body of work at right guard – particularly in a strong game against the Packers – and want to continue his development. But if Jones has to start this week for the first time since September 2018, the Vikings shouldn't take too much of a hit on offense.
Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis. Also, click the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first), leave comments below, and follow me on Twitter.
