Vikings Injury Updates on Chad Beebe, Kene Nwangwu, Anthony Barr, Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin
The roster cutdown deadline has come and gone, and the Vikings have set their initial 53-man squad.
A big part of the puzzle that is forming an initial roster is taking stock of injuries: placing players on season-ending injured reserve, keeping players who you know you'll place on short-term IR after rosters are set, and accounting for which position groups are the most banged up.
With that in mind, let's run through some injury updates for key Vikings from the past couple days.
Chad Beebe's season is over
In another stroke of bad injury luck for a Vikings offense that has dealt with plenty of it already this year, wide receiver Chad Beebe will undergo surgery on his left foot and miss the rest of the season. The Vikings have placed him on IR, meaning he won't be eligible to return this year.
Beebe joins Bisi Johnson and Blake Proehl as Vikings receivers to suffer season-ending injuries in the last month. Their six WRs to start the season are Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Dede Westbrook, and Dan Chisena. Jefferson, Thielen, and Westbrook have dealt with injuries during training camp as well, but all three are currently healthy.
Kene Nwangwu will go on short-term IR
The fourth-round pick from Iowa State suffered a hyperextended knee on the opening kickoff of the preseason and hasn't practiced since. He made the 53-man roster, but will be placed on IR on Wednesday. Doing it that way means Nwangwu will be eligible to return in Week 4 or anytime thereafter. Once he returns to practice, he'll have three weeks to be officially activated from IR.
For now, the Vikings' running backs are Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. They'll add at least one more in the coming days, whether that's bringing back Ameer Abdullah and/or A.J. Rose Jr. or making a waiver claim for a player cut by another team.
Smith-Marsette (kickoffs) and Westbrook (punts) are the favorites for the returner jobs.
Anthony Barr "50/50" to play Week 1 with knee injury
Barr has been out for nearly a month with a previously undisclosed injury that we now know is a knee issue.
Per ESPN's Courtney Cronin, Barr is "50/50" to play in Week 1 against the Bengals, which is a positive update considering the mysterious nature of the injury prior to this week.
Mike Zimmer also delivered good news when asked about Barr.
"I hate to say it because you guys will say I’m wrong if I’m wrong, but he’s doing really good," Zimmer said on Monday. "We’ve got a good plan for him to get him ready to go."
We'll see if Barr actually ends up playing in Cincinnati, but either way, it doesn't sound like this will keep him out for a major chunk of time going forwards.
Details on Irv Smith Jr.'s injury and surgery
Reports came out on Sunday that Smith is expected to undergo meniscus surgery that would sideline him for at least the start of the season. We learned some additional details on Monday:
- The injury occurred in the game against the Chiefs
- Vikings team physician Dr. Christopher Larson will perform the surgery this week
- The recovery timetable won't be known until the surgery happens
There are still two options here: Smith has a minor clean-up procedure on his meniscus and is out a couple weeks or a month, or he has a full repair done on the meniscus and is out for six to eight months, so the entire season.
“I never heard the 6-8 months thing," Mike Zimmer said. "We’ll just see where he’s at."
The Vikings traded for Jets tight end Chris Herndon on Tuesday to fill in at TE while Smith is out. That type of move — especially considering they gave up a fourth-round pick — could indicate that the Vikings are concerned about the possibility of Smith missing more than a few weeks.
Regardless of the outcome of the surgery, Smith will likely be placed on IR this week and won't be eligible to return until Week 4.
Update: Smith had the surgery on Wednesday, a full repair of the meniscus, and is likely out for the season.
Tyler Conklin returns to practice
The good news at tight end is that Conklin returned to practice on Monday after missing a couple weeks with a hamstring injury. He said they were just being cautious with it since soft-tissue injuries like that can linger or be aggravated.
"I feel really good," Conklin said. "It’s more about easing into it. I’m trying to handle it the right way so I’m good for the whole year."
Conklin will be the Vikings' top tight end for as long as Smith is out, with Chris Herndon and Brandon Dillon behind him on the depth chart. He could be a major part of Minnesota's offense this year.
Other injury notes
- In addition to Nwangwu and Smith Jr. going on IR, Christian Darrisaw seems like a candidate to be placed on IR as well. He is still recovering from a second procedure to address his nagging core/groin injury
- Barr, Alexander Mattison, Dan Chisena, and Josh Metellus are the other four players who made the Vikings' initial 53-man roster but didn't practice on Monday.
- Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are healthy.
Update: Chisena went on IR, but Darrisaw did not.
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