In a slightly different situation this would be absolutely huge news. In the context of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2016 season, we simply call a situation like this “Wednesday.”
Numerous sources are reporting that star safety Harrison Smith could potentially be done for the remainder of the 2016 season with a high ankle sprain. He has already been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and seems like to miss time beyond that.
According to Matthew Coller of 1500 ESPN, Smith’s injury includes a complete tear of a ligament in his ankle and is classed as a Grade 3 sprain, the highest grade a sprain can receive. He suffered the injury against the Arizona Cardinals and then aggravated the injury last Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys. The injury will be evaluated week-to-week, but there’s a good chance it’s going to require surgery after the season.
On a defense that has become increasingly filled with star players, Smith might be the most indispensable player on the unit. He’s on the short list of the best safeties in the National Football League and has put together a very solid season thus far prior to this injury. But, as I said earlier, this is just another blow for the Vikings in what went from a promising campaign to an increasingly lost season.
We’ll have to see who will get the start next to Andrew Sendejo on Sunday in Jacksonville. When Sendejo missed time, rookie Jayron Kearse got a start for the purple, but he was quickly replaced by second-year safety Anthony Harris.