Vikings Activate Pat Elflein From Injured Reserve

The former Ohio State guard had been out since Week 1 with a hand injury.

The Vikings have activated guard Pat Elflein from injured reserve, according to the NFL's transactions wire. The team had 52 players on the active roster prior to this move, so no corresponding move will be required. The Vikings have confirmed the activation.

The #Vikings have activated G Pat Elflein from IR. pic.twitter.com/Bi1Mb4mIaM

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 13, 2020

Elflein was designated for return from IR back on October 26. If he hadn't been activated prior to this Sunday, his season would have been over. He's been practicing for the past couple weeks as the team's coaches and medical staff evaluated his readiness to return to action.

Elflein, a third-round pick out of Ohio State in 2017, has been out since Week 1 with a hand injury. He had surgery on his thumb and has been recovering from that. The former center moved from left guard to right guard this offseason. In his absence, the Vikings turned to Dru Samia at right guard for the next four games and rookie Ezra Cleveland for the past three games.

"Pat's coming off that thumb surgery, and he'll have a good practice one day, it'll bother him a little bit the next day, may miss some time, then he'll come back, so he's working through this as he gets back on the field and has been out there a little bit the past couple days, so I just think it's a work in progress," Gary Kubiak said. "He's doing everything he can."

It's unclear whether Elflein could potentially start on Monday night against the Bears. It seems far more likely that the Vikings will roll with what's been working, which is Cleveland at right guard and veteran Dakota Dozier at left guard, with Elflein becoming available for depth purposes.

Going forward, though, it wouldn't be surprising to see Elflein push Dozier in practice for the left guard spot. It seems unlikely that Cleveland, their second-round pick this year, would be demoted from the starting lineup.

Elflein has started 43 games for the Vikings over the past four seasons, but has struggled with inconsistency, particularly in pass protection. He led the team in pressures and sacks allowed in 2019.

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