Vikings Place CB Cameron Dantzler on Reserve/COVID-19 List
The Vikings have placed rookie starting cornerback Cameron Dantzler on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced on Wednesday. According to KSTP's Darren Wolfson, this is related to contact tracing after family members were in town over the bye week, which suggests Dantzler might not have actually tested positive.
Regardless, this puts his status for Sunday's game in Green Bay against the division rival Packers into question. If Dantzler didn't test positive, he still needs multiple consecutive negative tests to be able to return to action. If he did test positive, he'll be out for at least one game while quarantining.
Dantzler, a third-round pick from Mississippi State who was one of the Vikings' breakout stars of training camp, has started each of the past three games after missing two due to injury. He has struggled to adjust to the NFL in coverage but did have a career-high 11 tackles against the Falcons in Week 6.
This is the Vikings' first addition to the COVID-19 list since August.
The Vikings are extremely thin at cornerback right now. Dantzler can't practice until he clears the protocols, and Minnesota also has a number of injuries at the position. Mike Hughes injured his neck against the Falcons and didn't practice on Wednesday. Holton Hill was also a DNP and is in danger of missing his third straight game with a foot injury. Kris Boyd (hamstring) has missed three straight and was limited in practice. Recent addition Chris Jones is still going through the COVID testing protocols and won't be ready to play on Sunday.
There's a possibility that the Vikings could head into Sunday's game with just three healthy cornerbacks: Jeff Gladney, Harrison Hand, and Mark Fields. Gladney has shown some encouraging signs of improvement during his rookie season, but Hand is a fifth-round rookie and Fields is a former practice squad guy. The Vikings can't add anyone else in time for the game, so they may need to elevate Marcus Sayles or Luther Kirk to the active roster just to have enough defensive backs available.
The only non-corner included on the Vikings' Wednesday injury report was star running back Dalvin Cook, who was limited with the groin injury he suffered against the Seahawks. Cook and Mike Zimmer said he expects to play this week.
Packers running back Aaron Jones (calf) seems less likely to play than Cook. He missed Green Bay's practice Wednesday, along with corner Kevin King and kicker Mason Crosby. The Packers listed a whopping 15 players as limited.
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