Report: Kyle Rudolph To Miss Six Weeks

The injuries are starting to pile up a little bit for the Minnesota Vikings, and one of the big ones is going to cause a big part of the Vikings' offense to miss about a month and a half of action.

Numerous sources are reporting that tight end Kyle Rudolph has a sports hernia that is going to require surgery. The surgery will cause him to miss approximately six weeks.

Rudolph was the recipient of a big contract from the Vikings in the off-season, and big things were expected from him in 2014. The Vikings are going to have a hard time replacing him. . .their two current tight end options (Rhett Ellison and MarQueis Gray) have combined for sixteen career catches. The team could also bring Chase Ford up from the practice squad if they feel they need the help.

One option would be to place Rudolph on injured reserve with the option to return, as the Vikings can do that once per season. The question then may become what to do with quarterback Matt Cassel, who was injured in the Vikings' 20-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday.

But the big story here is that Kyle Rudolph is going to miss six weeks following surgery to repair a sports hernia. With the Vikings having a bye in Week 10 this year, that means the earliest we'll see Rudolph on the field would be when the Vikings travel to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears on 16 November.