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We’ve said numerous times that the Minnesota Vikings’ competition for the third wide receiver spot was going to be one to watch throughout Training Camp. Unfortunately, we’ve just learned that the field of players jockeying for that position just got a little less crowded.
#Vikings WR Olabisi Johnson suffered a torn ACL in practice Friday, source said. Rough break for a promising young player who has 45 catches over his first two NFL seasons.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 31, 2021
Close, Personal Friend of The Daily Norseman Tom Pelissero™ is reporting that Bisi Johnson suffered a torn ACL in Friday’s practice and will miss the 2021 season. We mentioned in our roundup from yesterday that Johnson had gone down with a non-contact injury. That’s usually a pretty bad thing, and now the worst possible scenario has been confirmed.
Johnson was a seventh-round pick of the Vikings in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Colorado State. He had a decent rookie year, in part because he got a lot of snaps while Adam Thielen was out with an injury. He caught 31 passes for 294 yards and three scores as a rookie. His numbers dipped last season, as he caught just 13 passes for 189 yards.
With Johnson now done for the year, the competition for the WR3 spot appears to be between the newly-signed Dede Westbrook, third-year receiver Chad Beebe, and rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Perhaps someone else will emerge at some point during camp, but those three have to be considered the lead pack at things stand right now.
Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for Bisi Johnson and a comeback in 2022.