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Justin Jefferson Returns to Vikings Practice on Monday, Tyler Conklin Leaves With Injury

Some good injury news, some not so good for the Vikings.
Will Ragatz|
Justin Jefferson Returns to Vikings Practice on Monday, Tyler Conklin Leaves With Injury
Justin Jefferson Returns to Vikings Practice on Monday, Tyler Conklin Leaves With Injury

Ten days after suffering what appeared at first to be a significant upper-body injury, Vikings superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson was back at practice on Monday.

Jefferson went down while attempting to make a catch on August 6th and was in substantial pain. A crisis was averted when he was diagnosed with a minor AC joint sprain in his shoulder, and further testing revealed positive news as well.

Even though he's back at practice, I'd expect the Vikings to be very cautious with their young star. Per reports from practice, he only took one rep each in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 action.

It would surprise me if Jefferson played in either of Minnesota's remaining preseason games. The risks far outweigh the potential benefits there. Still, it's great that his shoulder has recovered enough that he can be back out there at practice.

"I don’t think he’s ever missed time before, and he doesn’t like it very much," Adam Thielen said. "But that’s what you want. You want a guy that love football, wants to be out there. He doesn’t care if it’s a Wednesday practice in the middle of training camp, or if it’s gameday. He wants to be out there with his teammates and we’re excited to have him back."

In less encouraging injury news for the Vikings, tight end Tyler Conklin left Monday's practice early.

Hopefully that's nothing serious. With Conklin leaving early, the Vikings' other TEs (Brandon Dillon, Zach Davidson, Shane Zylstra) all got some work with the starters.

Other practice notes from reporters on the scene at TCO:

  • Rashod Hill returned to practice and split reps with Blake Brandel at left tackle. 
  • Oli Udoh got all the work at right guard for the first time.
  • Anthony Barr, Chad Beebe, Christian Darrisaw, Myles Dorn, Troy Dye, James Lynch, Kene Nwangwu, Cam Smith, Nate Stanley, and Dede Westbrook did not practice.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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