It doesn’t sound very grave.
The Minnesota Vikings lost a top cornerback to a season-ending injury the day before, and during practice, another player at that position went down. Thankfully, it appears that the team avoided suffering any serious injuries.
Shaq Griffin, a seasoned cornerback, appeared to have injured his leg after intercepting a pass on Thursday. Despite not showing up for practice, he left the field on his own initiative and seemed to be suffering from a foot or ankle ailment. Head coach Kevin O’Connell gave a condition update on Saturday.
“He’s got a soft-tissue [injury] in his left leg,” Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said to the media on Saturday. We’re keeping an eye on him to see whether he needs more time in camp—we could be a week or two early.
“We’re going to get him back, hopefully sooner rather than later, along with [Vice President of Player Health and Performance] Tyler [Williams] and the team. However, I’ll update you guys on his timeframe,” O’Connell continued.
When potential second-year player Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL during the first session of the season, the Vikings’ cornerback depth chart took a serious hit. Blackmon’s season was ended by the team placing him on injured reserve. On the team’s roster, the position was already a point of dispute, so looking forward, they cannot afford for Griffin or anybody else to get hurt there.
According to O’Connell, in order to at least take up part of the practice reps and even the playing field, the team will probably need to add another player at the position. It’s unclear if the team will take that route, but they have enough cap space to consider maybe bringing in a veteran cornerback like Stephon Gilmore or Xavien Howard, both of whom are connected to defensive coordinator Brian Flores.