The Minnesota Vikings released their final injury report in advance of Sunday’s game against the (they will always be San Diego) Los Angeles Chargers:
#MINvsLAC injury report
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 13, 2019
OUT: Jayron Kearse and Alexander Mattison
QUESTIONABLE: Bisi Johnson and Xavier Rhodes
OUT:
Jayron Kearse, S
Alexander Mattison, RB
QUESTIONABLE:
Xavier Rhodes, CB
Bisi Johnson, WR
The big news, of course, is that Adam Thielen isn’t even listed, so he will see his first live action since week nine against the Kansas City Chiefs. But it’s notable that Kearse and Mattison will both sit. Even though Dalvin Cook is not listed, he’s been battling that chest injury for the past few weeks, so if that gets hurt again, Mike Boone would get some extended action. Mattison has had an impressive rookie season so far, and his ability to spell Cook with little to no drop off in production has been a huge plus. That could be a big factor on Sunday.
With the Vikings rotating their defensive backs in more, the loss of Jayron Kearse for Sunday seems to have less of an impact than Mattison, but Kearse will still be missed. Add Xavier Rhodes into that mix, and the Vikings secondary suddenly looks like it’s one injury away from potential chaos. Let’s hope no one else gets banged up between now and then. Either way, expect Holton Hill to get more snaps on defense.
With Bisi Johnson also questionable, the WR depth is also something to keep an eye on. Presumably, Laquon Treadwell will probably get a lot of early looks at WR3 on Sunday, depending on how Johnson feels. If Johnson can’t go, Alexander Hollins is still on the active roster, so he would presumably be WR4 if Johnson is a no-go.