Vikings Tight End Irv Smith Jr. to Miss 'At Least Start of Regular Season' With Meniscus Injury
Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is expected to undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury and will miss "at least the start of the regular season," per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
This is a tough break for the Vikings' offense for a number of reasons. The biggest one is that Smith is a very talented player who was gearing up for a breakout season now that he's the top TE on the roster for the first time in his three-year career. With Kyle Rudolph now playing for the Giants, the 23-year-old Smith was excited about the opportunity to be Minnesota's TE1. He showed off plenty of his upside in Friday's preseason finale, catching two passes for 39 yards from Kirk Cousins on the Vikings' opening drive.
Another reason why this is a big blow is that Tyler Conklin, the Vikings' No. 2 tight end, is also hurt right now. He left practice a couple weeks ago with what was reportedly a minor hamstring injury, but hasn't returned since and did not play a single snap in any of the three preseason games. There are still two weeks until the regular season opener in Cincinnati, but Conklin's status is unclear.
The other tight ends on the Vikings' depth chart are Brandon Dillon, rookie Zach Davidson, and Shane Zylstra. That trio has exactly one NFL regular season catch, courtesy of Dillon last year. Davidson, a fifth-round pick this year out of Central Missouri, has a lot of athleticism but still needs significant development.
The Vikings could also look to sign a veteran free agent at tight end. Trey Burton and Tyler Eifert are two of the bigger names available.
According to PFF injury analyst Mario Pilato, Smith's meniscus injury could be one of two things. If it's a meniscectomy, he'd only be out two to four weeks and could return early in the season. If it's a full meniscus repair, he would be out for the season. There's been no indication yet that this is a potential season-ending injury, but we don't know the timetable or details at this point.
Smith was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2019 draft out of Alabama. He has 66 catches for 676 yards and seven touchdowns in two seasons thus far in his career, although that was while serving as the team's No. 2 TE behind Rudolph.
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