Jacob Thomas' Injury Shouldn't Stop Him From Making Vikings' 53-Man Roster

Despite injury, the UDFA safety should have a good chance to make the team.

Minnesota Vikings safety Jacob Thomas suffered an injury in the team's final preseason game, but that shouldn't hurt his chances to make the 53-man roster. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There was a scary moment early in the third and final preseason game for the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night. Against the Denver Broncos, undrafted free agent safety Jacob Thomas went down with what appeared to be a leg injury, and fans immediately expected the worst.

Thomas has been a solid player during training camp and has put together a good preseason. Against the New York Giants in the preseason opener, he had four tackles (two solo) and one pass defense.

He followed that up with another good game against the Baltimore Ravens last weekend, where he was tied for the most tackles among all Vikings defenders, registering six takedowns (four solo) and adding one pass breakup.

Seeing him go down against the Broncos on Friday night seemed devastating to the 22-year-old defender from James Madison University. That said, the timing couldn't have been worse with the deadline to trim rosters to 53-players on the horizon.

Why Jacob Thomas' injury won't hurt his chances to make the 53-man roster

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell stated after the game that he believed Thomas' injury was an ankle sprain, but the team wouldn't know for sure until an MRI was completed to evaluate the severity of the damage.

It turns out that O'Connell knew what he was talking about. On Saturday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic shared on X that the injury was a Grade 1 ankle sprain, which should be considered great news considering how bad it could have been.

Thomas' success during training camp and the preseason was one of the best stories to come out of the team.

In college, he played 50 games over four seasons, racking up 199 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five interceptions, and two sacks. With that kind of stat line in college, it isn't shocking that he thrived early with Minnesota.

The six-foot-one, 212-pound defensive back was on track to make the team's 53-man roster this season, and this injury shouldn't stop that from happening. While he will need some time to recover, this ankle injury isn't severe enough to place him on injured reserve or persuade the team to add a different safety in his place.

When looking at the safety room for Minnesota, the lack of depth behind Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson is highly concerning. Keeping a physical player with a great nose for the football who can play close to the line of scrimmage or drop back into coverage would be a huge asset in Brian Flores' defense.

Therefore, parting ways with him due to this injury would be foolish for the Vikings since they won't find someone with his skill set and physical attributes in free agency during roster cuts, and he has outplayed the other safeties fighting for a roster spot during his time in Minnesota.

Now that the preseason is over for the Vikings, Thomas has until Sept. 13 to rest up. That is when Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium to open the regular season. With the positive news of his ankle injury, Thomas should be a member of the purple and gold when the border battle goes down in Week 1.

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