Team news: Minnesota Vikings | Page 2

The Jags may be even more short-handed, as stellar rookie Brian Thomas Jr. will have an MRI on his ribs to determine his status for the week, source said.

Related players: Gabe Davis, Parker Washington, Devin Duvernay, Tim Jones

Thomas wasn't able to get back on the field after putting up a line of 3-60-1 last week. The Jags are already with Christian Kirk heading into a game with the Eagles. The bit of good news is the Eagles-Jags game was flexed out of Sunday night, so owners will have a little bit more time to figure out a backup plan should Thomas come down to a game-time call. The game is now in the later Sunday window. Rib injuries can be tricky, so owners will want to monitor this all week.

Vikings downgraded TE T.J. Hockenson to out for tonight’s game against the Rams. Hockenson’s return from a major knee injury 10 months ago now will wait.

Vikings officially will activate Hockenson on Friday and the plan is for him to play next week vs. the Colts, per source.

Related Players: Johnny Mundt

Just one more week until we can fire Hock back into lineups as a TE1.

Vikings RB Aaron Jones does not have an injury designation for TNF against the Rams. That's big.

Related Players: Ty Chandler

This is a good-to-great matchup for Jones, and he should be considered an RB1 heading into Thursday Night Football.

The Vikings are officially listing TE T.J. Hockenson as questionable for tomorrow's game against the Rams.

Related Players: Johnny Mundt

It's a great sign for Hockenson and the Vikings offense, but exercise caution in his first game back. If he plays, it could very well be on a limited basis.

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.

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.