Vikings place Blake Proehl, Ryan Connelly on Physically Unable to Perform List

With the start of Training Camp, it’s also time for teams to put players on the Physically Unable to Peform (PUP) and Non-Football lnjury (NFI) lists. The Minnesota Vikings are no different, placing two players on PUP before practices officially get underway.

The Vikings have announced that they have placed wide receiver Blake Proehl and linebacker Ryan Connelly on the PUP list.

Both players are coming off of torn ACLs suffered last season. Proehl, the son of longtime NFL wide receiver Ricky Proehl, suffered an ACL tear during last year’s joint practices with the Denver Broncos when his knee buckled while making a cut. Connelly’s injury came in the Vikings’ Thursday night victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past December, when he was injured covering the opening kickoff of the second half.

To review, being placed on the PUP List means that neither Proehl nor Connelly can practice with the rest of the team for the time being. They can only do rehab-type work off to the side. This declaration needs to be made before practices start, and a player can be removed from the PUP List at any time, even if they miss just one practice. Once a player has come off the PUP List, he can’t be placed back on it, nor can any player be placed on PUP if they’ve completed at least one Training Camp practice.

If Connelly and/or Proehl are still on PUP by the time Week 1 comes around, they will be forced to remain on the PUP List and miss at least the first six games of the season. After that, the team has a window to decide whether or not to let them return to practice or remain on PUP.

As far as we know, Proehl and Connelly are the only two players that have been placed on PUP or NFI by the Vikings. If that changes, we’ll be sure to update you.