Vikings Rookies Ty Chandler, Akayleb Evans Suffer Injuries in Bears Game
Two Vikings rookies suffered injuries while playing on special teams during Sunday's victory over the Bears, head coach Kevin O'Connell said.
Running back Ty Chandler, who was active for the first time, broke his thumb. It sounds like he'll miss some time, but it's unclear if it'll require a trip to injured reserve. Irv Smith Jr. broke his thumb in early August and missed a little over a month.
"(Chandler) is still consulting with Tyler (Williams), Uriah (Myrie) and some doctors on the best course of action, but more than likely he’s going to be down," O'Connell said on Monday. "Whether it’s weeks or whatever it ends up being, we’ll probably keep you guys posted on a potential roster move or if we think he can be back in an amount of time that allows us to roll with him on the roster for the short term, then we’ll go ahead and do that."
Chandler is fourth on the Vikings' depth chart at running back, so losing him only really impacts special teams, provided the other RBs stay healthy.
Cornerback Akayleb Evans, who recovered an onside kick in the second half of the win, is in the concussion protocol. Similar to what happened with Harrison Smith a few weeks ago, the Vikings will follow all of the medical protocols there.
"Akayleb is doing really well," O'Connell said. "He is in the protocol and obviously with player health and safety being paramount, we’ll go through the proper procedures there and make sure everything checks out before he’s back in a potential contact role."
Evans has been the Vikings' No. 3 outside cornerback this season. Andrew Booth Jr. could return this Sunday after missing the last four games, so either he or Kris Boyd would be next in line for snaps at corner if Evans has to miss a game.
Lastly, O'Connell said safety Lewis Cine, who is out for the season with a broken leg, returned from London to the Twin Cities on Saturday night and was back at TCO Performance Center with his teammates on Monday.
A smiling O'Connell said that was great to see and that Cine is doing well, all things considered.
"Was awesome to see him down with our guys in the training room and he’s in great spirits, he looks great and I cannot say enough about the care that he received. Ultimately, a tip of the cap to our medical team and medical staff that stayed back with him, and then obviously the transition to get him back here in our building was big-time and it was great to see him. He’ll continue his early post-procedure kind of progression before he leads into some of the more active treatment and recovery that will hopefully lead to him making a full recovery."
Notes
- The Dolphins signed former Vikings defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman to their practice squad on Monday, perhaps for intel purposes.
- Miami is dealing with a ton of injuries right now. It sounds like QB Tua Tagovailoa could miss another game, which would mean Teddy Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson would get the start depending on Bridgewater's own injury issue. LT Terron Armstead, WR Tyreek Hill, and CBs Byron Jones and Xavien Howard are all banged up as well. Something to monitor throughout the week.
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