Team news: Minnesota Vikings

Vikings are signing former Bucs' kicker Greg Joseph, per his rep @TesslerSports. Joseph was on the Bucs' practice squad for much of the season, including the Super Bowl, and the Bucs often designated him one of their protected players, blocking others from signing him.

Looks like we may have a kicker competition brewing in Minnesota, as the Vikings added another body to possibly replace Dan Bailey. It was a rough 2020 for Bailey, who only converted 68.2% of his field-goal attempts this season. Greg Joseph was waived by the Titans in September, and spent most of the season on the Bucs practice squad.

Vikings running back Alexander Mattison is practicing Wednesday after going through concussion protocol last week.

Dalvin Cook is set to miss Week 17 following the death of his father, so this news sets Mattison up to start in a great matchup against the Lions' terrible defense. Mike Boone and Ameer Abudallah will probably mix in in some capacity, but Mattison will be an interesting DFS play given his projected workload and the soft matchup.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook will miss Week 17 due to a family emergency.

Cook ends 2020 with another strong season in the books, accumulating over 1,900 total yards and 17 total touchdowns on one of the heaviest workloads in the league. Alexander Mattison will start Week 17 for the Vikings if he can get through concussion protocol before the weekend. Cook will return as a lock RB1 in 2021 fantasy drafts.

In what might be Kyle Rudolph’s last season with the Vikings, the tight end will not be able to play in Week 17.

Minnesota announced on Tuesday that it placed Rudolph on IR. The Vikings still have Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin and Hale Hentges at the tight end position, barring any of those three suffering injuries.

With Smith coming on as the team's top TE target, Rudolph may be out in 2021. Smith had a huge game on Christmas Day, posting a 6-53-2 line. For the season he has 28 catches for 335 yards and five TDs, but three of those TDs and 153 yards have come over the last three weeks.

Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison has been ruled out for Week 16 against the New Orleans Saints.

Mattison had been sidelined for three weeks after undergoing an appendectomy and returned in Week 15 only to suffer a concussion after only six snaps. He will miss Week 16, leaving Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone to pick up the scraps behind workhorse Dalvin Cook. Cook is our fifth ranked running back for finals week.

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison is questionable for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, according to Chad Graff of The Athletic.

Mattison has missed multiple weeks, which is expected with an appendectomy. If he does play Sunday, it would be tough to see him returning to his full-time backup role.