Team news: Minnesota Vikings | Page 14

With the Vikings playing the Rams on Thursday night, it stands to reason that T.J. Hockenson will be activated this week. But head coach Kevin O’Connell did not commit to the tight end playing when asked about him and guard Dalton Risner — who is also returning from a back injury — on Monday.

“It’s early. We’ll make that determination kind of as these next couple of days [go by],” O’Connell said in his news conference. “As we put together game plans, we want to have a good feel for that. But, very much a possibility.”

The Vikings have been methodical in bringing back Hockenson from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered late last season. But his 21-day practice window is coming to a close, the story pointed out. Hock would be a nice boost for the Vikings and their offense. Even if he plays on Thursday, it would remain to be seen how much he's on the field and if he's on any kind of a pitch count, so it may be best to "wait-and-see" before putting him right in fantasy lineups for his first game back.

The illness that sidelined Deebo Samuel yesterday is pneumonia. He's in the hospital.

Related players: Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing, George Kittle

When the team realized Deebo had fluid in his lungs, he was sent to the hospital, Lombardi said in another post. Another beat writer, Nick Wagoner, reported Samuel was struggling to breathe which is why he wasn't in the game very long. Aiyuk is out for the season so the Niners now find themselves very thin at the WR position. There is no timetable for Samuel's return at this point. Reports say the team should get Jennings (hip) back in Week 8, but rookies like Pearsall and Cowing could very well be factors in the short term until Samuel is able to return.

Sources: 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday, tests confirmed.

Related players: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing, Trent Taylor, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey

Anyone who held on to Jennings should be in good shape as he will likely slide in as the team's WR2 behind Deebo. Jennings didn't play in Week 7 because of a hip injury but the team is hoping to have in back for Week 8, according to reports. Pearsall was active for the first time and caught three balls for 21 yards. Cowing had two catches for 50 yards. Both rookies could be options behind Samuel, Kittle and likely Jennings, but may not be consistent fantasy producers. We reported McCaffrey is looking to return on Nov. 10 and it's possible he's counted on as a receiver more than a rusher once he's back.

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey's target to return is early November. The Niners have a bye the first week of November, but November 10 could be a potential return date, according to Ian Rapoport.

Related players: Jordan Mason

Rapoport said CMC continues to ramp up. He's been running on flat ground and there is no reason to be pessimistic, and it's been all systems go up to this point, Rapoport said. It's good news for McCaffrey and a potential return. As far as fantasy goes, hopefully his owners are still alive for a playoff berth by the time we get to Nov. 10. It may not be fair to think CMC jumps right into his normal bell cow role his first game back. The team may opt to continue to use Mason, who has done a great job filling in. With the potential loss of Brandon Aiyuk, CMC owners shouldn't have much worry inserting him in lineups once he's back.

The Vikings downgraded TE T.J. (knee) to out for Sunday’s game against the Lions. Hockenson was limited at practice so the Vikings will wait one more week to activate him. He returned to practice October 4, meaning the Vikings will have to activate him by the end of next week or he will miss the rest of the season. In all likelihood, Hockenson will be activated next week and make his season debut in Week 8 against the Rams.

Vikings injury report vs Lions

OUT -- Blake Cashman, Akayleb Evans

QUESTIONABLE -- Aaron Jones, Dalton Risner, T.J. Hockenson, Pat Jones, Harrison Phillips

Related Players: Ty Chandler, C.J. Ham

Still nothing concrete yet, but Chandler would be a fringe RB2/3 if Jones ends up missing Week 7. Otherwise, it'll be Jones there, with Chandler not logging quite enough usage to be fantasy-relevant.

Trade! The Texans are sending RB Cam Akers to the Vikings, sources say.

Related players: Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale

Houston gets a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick in exchange for Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick. Of course, it’s a reunion for Akers and Minnesota, which also traded for him last season, the story pointed out. The worry now is maybe Jones, who was injured (hip) before the Vikings bye week, isn't fully healthy just yet, despite being able to practice so far this week. However, the Vikings, who sit at 5-0 so far this season, may just want more RB depth behind Jones and Chandler. As for the Texans, Mixon and Pierce look to be healthy again, and with the emergence of Ogunbowale over the last couple of weeks, Akers became expendable.

RB Jordan Mason (shoulder) was in a blue jersey, I'm told.

Related players: Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor, Kyle Juszczyk

Reports said Mason's injury wasn't considered too serious, and it's a good sign he was back at practice, despite wearing the non-contact jersey. The Niners will host the Chiefs and what should be a fun game to watch in the later window of Sunday. If Mason can't go, look for Guerendo to pick up the slack after he carried 10 times for 99 yards in Week 6 after Mason left the game.

The NFL’s leading rusher, 49ers RB Jordan Mason, is believed to have suffered a sprained AC joint during Thursday night’s win at Seattle that is not considered serious, but he will undergo further testing today, per sources.

Related Players: Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor

This doesn't give us a good lean on how much time he could miss (if any), but there's a good chance Guerendo gets a shot at leading the rushing attack after he put the game away with a 70+ yard run. We'll keep an eye on the situation, but hopefully, Mason isn't forced to miss too much time.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell says RB Aaron Jones "continues to be evaluated." Says all the information so far signals that they avoided major injury, but he's classified right now as "week to week."

Related players: Ty Chandler

We reported Monday that Jones avoided major injury and had a chance to be back after the team's Week 6 bye. While there was no talk of that in this post, he technically still has a chance to return in Week 7, which is an early game against the Lions. It's still a good idea to try and get Chandler if he's somehow still on your waiver wire.