Team news: Minnesota Vikings | Page 14

Jalen Nailor has been a star in training camp so far and in both preseason games. He’s locked up the WR3 spot and it hasn’t been close.

Related players: Jordan Addison

Nailor’s biggest issue since being drafted has been his durability, but when healthy he’s shown he’s capable of WR3 duties, the story went on to say. The emergence of Nailer will allowed Addison to play in the slot, and the story suggested he could be more effective there. With TE T.J. Hockenson not expected to play in the beginning of the season, Nailer could develop some fantasy value.

“I think from a mental and physical standpoint, right now where [Kyler Murray is] at, to even when he got back last year or even where he finished last year, I think he’s leaps and bounds ahead,” Jonathan Gannon said to Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio.

Gannon’s first year in Arizona was made more difficult by Murray’s return from the torn ACL he suffered during the 2023 season, the story said. So, Murray had to spend last summer rehabbing and missed the first part of the season. This summer has been much smoother, the story pointed out, and Murray can focus on football vs. rehabbing. As a result, Murray is seventh on our QB list.

Update on Jordan Addison: Injured his ankle, unlikely to practice tomorrow but Kevin O'Connell doesn’t believe it to be serious

“I think he’s going to be OK,” KOC said after practice.

Related Players: Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor

Just brutal injury luck for the Vikings over the last couple of days. The WR depth chart is very, very thin behind Jefferson/Addison, so for the sake of a fluent offense, let's hope Addison is just fine. We'll keep an eye on it, but if Addison misses time to pair with a possible late-season suspension, he's going to be a headache for fantasy.

Surgery on J.J. McCarthy’s torn meniscus revealed that a repair was necessary and the Vikings rookie quarterback now will miss the 2024 season.

While the Vikings are disappointed, they “strongly believe he will come back better and have a long, successful NFL career”, as one team official said. But rookie season is over.

Related Players: Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall

So much for a QB controversy.

This will be Sam Darnold's job, which makes him an interesting target deep in Superflex/2QB leagues.

Coach Kevin O’Connell has announced that quarterback J.J. McCarthy will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Related players: Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall

As the story went on to say, the threshold question is whether he’ll have the meniscus trimmed or repaired. As to the former, the player can come back quickly. As to the latter, he could miss several months. The story also pointed out that the other side of the coin is that a repair maximizes the amount of cartilage in the knee. A trim reduces the cushioning, setting the stage for a potential bone-on-bone situation. The story added what it thinks is the smart, long-term play - to get the meniscus repaired and the team goes with Darnold in 2024 and Hall would be the backup. McCarthy could potentially make a return around November. This is just the opinion of the author of course, we should get more information soon. For now, Darnold should get a bump in value with McCarthy at least temporarily out of the picture. He has the weapons around him to be a potential QB2 and superflex option.

Rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy is not participating in the Vikings’ Monday night practice.

Coach Kevin O’Connell said McCarthy reported right knee soreness to the team’s medical staff.

Related players: Sam Darnold

McCarthy played 30 snaps in the preseason opener and went 11-of-17 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was scheduled to receive more snaps with the first-team offense this week, O’Connell said in the story. The team said they sat him out of precaution and also wanted to run more tests.

Falcons WR Rondale Moore, who was carted off from practice yesterday, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Related Players: Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud, Casey Washington, KhaDarel Hodge

Moore had apparently been losing some snaps to McCloud through training camp, so this most likely pushes Ray-Ray into the starting lineup with Moore out for the year. Consistent targets for whoever steps up will be a very difficult task, with Drake London and Kyle Pitts (and Bijan Robinson) expected to take a massive chunk of the target share.

As the third week of camp nears an end, Sam Darnold has received all but two of the first-team reps in 11-on-11 drills. J.J. McCarthy got the other two. This should be no surprise to anyone who has listened to coach Kevin O'Connell talk about the position. While McCarthy is clearly the club's future quarterback, team leaders are in agreement that his ascension will not be rushed.

Any doubts that Darnold will start the season as QB1 seem to be out the window at this point. The Vikings do have a tough opening schedule, with the 49ers, Texans, Packers, and re-vamped Jets coming before their Week 6 Bye. McCarthy could be a play by the second half of the season, so we'll see how he looks for streaming purposes if/when that time comes.

Rondale Moore leaving the field on a cart with an inflatable cast on his right leg. Falcons teammates gathered around him before he left field and now gathered in prayer.

Related Players: Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud, Casey Washington, KhaDarel Hodge

Moore had apparently been losing some snaps to McCloud through training camp, so this most likely pushes Ray-Ray into the starting lineup if Moore ends up missing time. Regardless, neither slot guy is especially attractive for fantasy purposes, with Drake London and Kyle Pitts (and Bijan Robinson) expected to take a massive chunk of the target share.

"Nothing against Elijah Mitchell, but Jordan Mason runs at a very high level." - 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan on Mason earning reps at RB2 when Christian McCaffrey isn't in.

Related players: Isaac Guerendo

Guerendo is going to miss some time at camp and with the rookie out of action, it could mean the RB2 role ends up going to Mitchell or Mason. Mitchell struggles to stay healthy at times, but has excelled in the starting role before. It could just be coach-speak about Mason, but it's also worth paying attention to, especially if you're looking to handcuff McCaffrey this season.