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The Vikings have placed 34-year old OG Steve Hutchinson on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion. Hutchinson played in 14 games (all starts) for the Vikings this year. He has now played in 89 games (all starts) in his first six years with the Vikings. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings bring back Hutchinson for next season, as his play is starting to slip some.
The Vikings have lost 26-year old Adrian Peterson for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and MCL. Peterson played in 12 games for the Vikings this year and he carried the ball 208 times for 970 yards (4.7 ypc) with 12 TD runs. He also caught 18 passes for 139 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab this year. Peterson has now played in 73 games in his first five years with the Vikings and he has carried the ball 1,406 times for 6,752 yards (4.8 ypc) with 64 TD carries. Peterson has also caught 137 passes for 1,309 yards (9.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career with the Vikings so far. He likely won’t be ready for the start of the 2012 season.
The Vikings have placed 22-year old WR Stephen Burton on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a strained MCL. Burton played in 3 games for the Vikings this year and he caught 2 passes for 38 yards (19.0 avg). He was a 7th round pick out of tiny West Texas A&M in last June’s NFL Draft. The Vikings will be o.k. without him the rest of the year.
The Vikings have placed 26-year old safety Tyrell Johnson on the Injured Reserve List due to a hamstring injury. Johnson played in 11 games for the Vikings this year and he had 38 tackles and 1 pass defensed. He has now played in 49 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 123 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 10 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.
The Vikings have placed 26-year old safety Husain Abdullah on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion. Abdullah played in 9 games for the Vikings this year and he had 49 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 interception and 5 passes defensed. He has now played in 54 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 162 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 4 interceptions and 13 passes defensed.
The Vikings have placed 29-year old WR Michael Jenkins on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a knee injury. Jenkins played in 11 games for the Vikings this year and he caught 38 passes for 466 yards (12.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs. He has now played in 114 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has caught 314 passes for 3,978 yards (12.7 avg) with 23 TD grabs. The Vikings are going to miss him the rest of the season.
The Vikings will be without 30-year old long snapper Cullen Loeffler for the next 2-6 weeks due to a fracture in his lower back. Loeffler played in 11 games for the Vikings this year. He has now played in 123 games in his first 8 years with the Vikings. The Vikings acted quickly to replace Loeffler as they have signed 29-year old long snapper Matt Katula to replace him. Katula played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last year. He has now played in 88 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.
UPDATE: (11/30/2011) – The Vikings have placed Cullen Loeffler on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.
26-year old starting RB Adrian Peterson will miss the next 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain. Peterson has played in all 10 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has carried the ball 186 times for 872 yards (4.7 ypc) with 11 TD runs. He has also caught 16 passes for 125 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year. It will be up to 24-year old Toby Gerhart to replace Peterson as the main ball carrier. He has played in 10 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has carried the ball 24 times for 118 yards (4.9 ypc). Gerhart has also caught 5 passes for 61 yards (12.2 avg) for the Vikings so far this year. Gerhart will likely do a solid job while Peterson is out, but he lacks A.P.’s explosiveness.
The Minnesota Vikings have lost starting CB Antoine Winfield for the rest of the season due to a broken clavicle. Winfield played in 5 games for the Vikings this year and he had 40 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, 1 pass defensed and 4 tackles for a loss. He has now played in 103 games in his first 8 years with the Vikings and he has 628 tackles, 6 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 8 fumble recoveries, 18 interceptions (2 returned for TDs), 61 passes defensed and 33 tackles for a loss. This is a huge blow to the Vikings’ D as Winfield is one of the most underrated corners in the NFL.
The Vikings have lost 31-year old, starting left guard Anthony Herrera for the next two weeks due to a torn PCL in his left knee. Herrera has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Vikings so far this year. Rookie Brandon Fusco will likely replace Herrera in the starting lineup. He has played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Vikings so far this year. The Vikings hope that Herrera will be ready to return in a couple of weeks, as they are going to suffer a drop in production while he’s out of action.