Team news: Minnesota Vikings | Page 2

New York Giants wide receiver Calvin Austin III will miss the upcoming season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee while running a route at Tuesday's training camp practice, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Austin, 27, signed with the Giants this offseason after spending the first four years of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had 31 catches for 372 yards with three touchdowns last season.

Related Players: Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Braxton Berrios, Odell Beckham, Darnell Mooney

Austin was outside the top 250, but his absence creates an opening for Berrios, Beckham, or Darnell Mooney to handle more slot reps. It also marginally consolidates targets around Nabers, though not enough to move him materially from WR13.

Jaguars Injury update:

LeQuint Allen soft tissue injury will miss the rest of camp

Parker Washington is day to day but will return next week.

Related players: Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, DeeJay Dallas, Ameer Abdullah

Allen looked to be the team's RB3 behind Tuten and Rodriguez, but RB3s are worth paying attention to in deeper leagues, and, especially in this case where both Tuten and Rodriguez are mostly unproven backs. Dallas and Adbullah could battle it out for the RB3 role with Allen missing time. As for Washington, the timetable of returning next week is a good sign the team is probably just taking it easy with him. He's become a top target for QB Trevor Lawrence since last season and reports say it's continued this year in camp so far.

The Vikings’ quarterback competition is over.

Minnesota has named Kyler Murray its starting quarterback, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Related players: J.J. McCarthy

Murray, the No. 1 pick of the 2019 draft, signed a one-year deal with Minnesota in the offseason with the thought of earning the starting role over J.J. McCarthy. That has now happened before the first preseason game, setting up Murray to take all of the starters’ reps over the next month in preparation for the regular season, the story went on to point out.

From a fantasy standpoint, Murray is in a great situation with HC Kevin O'Connell, and a supporting cast that blows away anything he had in Arizona. Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones combine to form one of the deepest receiving groups in the league, and O'Connell has proven he can build an offense around his quarterback's strengths. The rushing remains elite for fantasy purposes: Murray averaged 35.0 yards per start on the ground last season, and that kind of dual-threat ability in O'Connell's system is a dangerous combination. The elephant in the room is durability. Murray has missed an average of 6.8 games per season over the last four years, and that's not a blip, it's a pattern. Murray makes for a nice QB2 option but we suggest a backup plan if you draft him.

Invest in the Vikings' running game this season. How exactly to do that is admittedly tricky. Aaron Jones Sr. will continue to split carries with Jordan Mason. Mason averaged 47.4 rushing yards per game last season; Jones was right on his heels at 45.7. Their split could be complicated by fifth-round rookie and training camp darling Demond Claiborne, an undersized firecracker out of Wake Forest.

Claiborne has been a bit of a popular name during dynasty rookie drafts this past spring, and now he's starting to get noticed in camp. The story said Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was asked about Clairborne and highlighted his already substantial improvement: "There were a lot of growing pains in the spring as far as being disciplined with his footwork, his tracks ... but you just see a much more comfortable player even in the first few days here, coming into camp." He could be a name to watch out for once the season gets going.

The Vikings’ quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy is about to heat up.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters in his Tuesday press conference that Murray and McCarthy will each take reps with the club’s first-team and second-team offense to begin training camp.

O’Connell also noted that Minnesota has a date in mind to choose the QB1, though he did not disclose it, according to the story. The story went on to say O'Connell met with everyone to talk about the vision and plan. Murray is fully expected to come away with the job after signing with the Vikings in the offseason. Assuming he wins the job, Murray gets a great supporting cast around him. He'll just need to stay healthy. We rank him 16th among our QBs, making him a solid QB2 option for this season.

49ers are listing TE George Kittle and WR Ricky Pearsall as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Bears.

Related Players: Jake Tonges, Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson

Jennings has really come along over the last month-plus so we should still expect him to be a very solid fantasy asset, whether Pearsall is in or not. As for Kittle, we need to have a contingency plan since they don't play until Monday night. Colston Loveland would be a fantastic option on the other sideline if he's available.

Vikings ruled out RB Jordan Mason and TE T.J. Hockenson, amongst others, for the Christmas Day game against Detroit.

Related Players: Aaron Jones, Zavier Scott, Ty Johnson, Josh Oliver

We'd like to think this would equate to a massive workload for Jones, but with no Playoff implications for the Vikings on the line, we could see a rotation with Scott and Johnson. Jones can still be considered an RB2, just closer to the RB3 fringe than the top-12.

Oliver is techincally in the TE streaming realm, but you can probably find yourself a better option on the WW.

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will not play against the Lions on Christmas due to a right hand injury.

X-rays taken of the hand after McCarthy was injured in last Sunday’s win over the Giants came back negative, but head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Tuesday that further imaging on the injury showed that McCarthy suffered a hairline fracture.

Related players: Max Brosmer

McCarthy has been ruled out for Thursday's Christmas Day game, and Brosmer will make his second start of the season. The story went on to say O’Connell said that McCarthy will not be placed on injured reserve and the team will evaluate his status for Week 18 after Thursday’s game. It's worth noting the Vikings skill players will take a hit here with Brosmer under center.

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy left Sunday’s win over the Giants with a right hand injury and he would have missed practice on Monday for the same reason.

The Vikings turned in an estimated injury report ahead of Thursday’s game against the Lions and it showed McCarthy as a non-participant. X-rays of the hand were negative, but more tests were planned for Monday to determine the extent of McCarthy’s injury.

Running back Jordan Mason (ankle) and center Ryan Kelly (concussion) also would have missed practice after being injured on Sunday. Tight end T.J. Hockenson (shoulder) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (heel) were the other Vikings listed as out of practice.

Running back Aaron Jones (ankle) and defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (thigh) were listed as limited. Tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back), running back Ty Chandler (knee), and linebacker Austin Keys (ankle) were listed as full participants.

Related players: Max Brosmer, Zavier Scott, Ty Chandler

Jones was limited at running back but if he and Mason would happen to be out, it would leave the RB duties to Scott and Chandler. Brosmer would be in line to start if McCarthy can't go at QB.

Vikings J.J. McCarthy has a right hand injury and will get an MRI.

Related players Max Brosmer

Rapoport said X-rays were negative, but he will get an MRI to see if there is any other damage, or if it might be just a bruise. If McCarthy can't go in Week 17, Brosmer would get his second start. Of course, we all remember his first start. But, Brosmer was 7 for 9 for 52 yards in relief of McCarthy in Week 16.