Rookie 2nd round pick (CB) Chris Cook will at least the next two weeks due to a tear in his right meniscus.  Cook has played in all three pre-season games for the Vikings and he made 7 tackles, forced a fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  Cook will miss at least the season opener against the Saints next Thursday Night in New Orleans.  That means that Lito Sheppard will have to step up.  He played in 11 games (9 starts) for the Jets last season and he had 31 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 1 interception.

The Vikings will be without 23-year old WR Sidney Rice for at least the first 8 games of the 2010 season due to hip surgery.  Rice really broke out last season for the Vikings.  He played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Vikings last season and he caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards (15.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Rice seemed to really jell with Brett Favre after having a disappointing first two years of his NFL career.  Rice played in 26 games (7 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he caught 46 passes for 537 yards (11.7 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  This is a very bad break for both Rice and the Vikings as Brett Favre will have to find a new go-to guy.

The Vikings have lost 29-year old starting linebacker E.J. Henderson for the season due to a broken femur.  Henderson played in 12 games for the Vikings this season and he made 83 tackles, had 6 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  The Vikings will miss Henderson big time as he was the teams’ leading tackler at the time of his injury.  24-year old rookie Jasper Brinkley will replace Henderson in the starting line-up.  Brinkley was a fifth round pick out of South Carolina in last April’s NFL Draft.  He has played in 12 games for the Vikings this season and he has made 10 tackles this season.  It will be interesting to see if Brinkley can handle the pressure of replacing a player like Henderson.

Vikings’ CB Antoine Winfield has a 85% chance of returning to the Vikings this weekend against the Seahawks.  He has played in 6 games this season for the Vikings and he has 30 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Winfield is strong in run support and the Vikings need him back big time.  Benny Sapp has done a decent job replacing Winfield as he has 12 tackles and he has defensed 2 passes in his 3 starts this year.  With Sapp playing decent the Vikings could decide to error on the side of caution with Winfield as they need him healthy to help the D down the stretch.

The Minnesota Vikings will be without Antoine Winfield for the next 4-6 weeks due to a fracture in his right foot.  Winfield has played in 6 games this season for the Vikings and he has made 30 tackles, defensed 4 passes and picked off 1.  28-year old Benny Sapp will replace Winfield in the starting lineup and that is a huge downgrade.  Sapp has played in 7 games for the Vikings this season and he has 16 tackles and he has defensed 2 passes.  This injury will definately hurt the Vikings as Winfield is a force defending the run or the pass.