Sports
4 Takeaways From Day 4 Of Vikings Training Camp
Fears were confirmed on Saturday as Bisi Johnson was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
August 1, 2021
A ‘takeaway’ in itself, the coronavirus found its way into the Minnesota Vikings locker room, sidelining Kellen Mond, Kirk Cousins, and Nate Stanley (yes, three quarterbacks). Mond tested positive for the virus while Cousins and Stanley — perhaps not vaccinated; that is unclear — entered the tracing protocols outlined by the NFL.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Saturday welcomed the first night-practice of the season, complete with fireworks (real ones, not figurative) and a crowd north of 4,000 in attendance.
Fears were confirmed on Saturday as Bisi Johnson was lost for the season due to a torn ACL. The day before, he was injured at practice but later returned with a brace.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Johnson tabulated 483 receiving yards during his first two seasons after joining the Vikings from the 7th Round of the 2019 NFL Draft. That isn’t otherworldly, but it’s a nice little stat total for a player not tickled with high expectations.
Now, Johnson must focus on recovery, hoping for a clean comeback and return to the roster in 2022.
And he performed rather well. His wide receivers — particularly Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and K.J. Osborn — “bailed him out” frequently. On the whole, though, he was decent. Hell, he was the only thing stopping the Vikings from outright rugby without a quarterback.
By implication, folks confirmed that Kirk Cousins is likely not vaccinated — to each their own.
If Cousins, Mond, and Stanley worked from home, this would not be a controversial ordeal. But they don’t. The comeuppance of opting out of the vaccination process will now be front-and-center for Minnesota hereafter.
Oli Udoh experienced first-team reps on the first day of camp, signaling to Vikings enthusiasts that he might be the RG1 in September. That could still be true, but the battle is far from over.
If you considered Dakota Dozier, rookie Wyatt Davis, Mason Cole, or Udoh the frontrunner for this gig — back to the drawing board you go.
The RG tug-of-war will be won in preseason games.
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
