Hentges arrived in the Twin Cities on Tuesday and must go through coronavirus protocols before officially signing. The tight end is not expected to be cleared in time to play Sunday at Tampa Bay.
The Vikings on Wednesday were without at practice tight ends Kyle Rudolph, who suffered a foot injury in last Sunday’s 27-24 overtime win over Jacksonville, and Irv Smith Jr., who has missed three of the past four games with at first a groin injury and then a back injury. They also did not have Brandon Dillon (ankle), who was placed on practice squad injured reserve Tuesday. That left Tyler Conklin as the only tight end practicing.
Hentges was Smith’s teammate at Alabama before being undrafted in 2019 and then catching eight passes for 103 yards and a touchdown as a Washington rookie. He spent time earlier this season on Indianapolis’ practice squad.
A source said Vikings assistant offensive line coach Phil Rauscher, who was Washington’s offensive line coach last season, raved about Hentges and played a key role in having him come to Minnesota.
Kendricks sits out
Linebacker Eric Kendricks sat out practice Wednesday due to a calf injury, and his status for Sunday’s game is uncertain.
Kendricks was injured in practice last Thursday and wasn’t on the final injury report. But he was scratched from the lineup just before the Jacksonville game after head coach Mike Zimmer said he “tweaked” his injury in warmups.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Zimmer said before the practice about Kendricks’ status. “We’ve got a few more days to get ready,”
Also not practicing was backup running back Alexander Mattison, who sat out against the Jaguars after having appendix surgery Saturday.
Cornerback Jeff Gladney, who was lost Sunday in the third quarter with a calf injury, was limited in practice. Also limited were center Garrett Bradbury (abdomen), tackle Riley Reiff (ankle), guard Ezra Cleveland (ankle) and defensive end D.J. Wonnum (ankle/back). Wonnum missed the Jacksonville game.
Cook's workload
Against the Jaguars, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook had career highs of 32 carries and 38 touches. He’s ready Sunday to do it again.
“I feel great, actually,” Cook said. “I’ll probably need 38 more. I don’t know. I feel great to be honest. I’m not puling your coattails or anything. I feel I’ve got a good system that I’ve got set up for me to get ready to go on Sundays. That starts right after the game.”
Cook is second in the NFL in rushing with 1,250 yards behind Tennessee’s Derek Henry, who has 1,317, and first in yards from scrimmage with 1,564. His 251 rushing attempts are second behind Henry’s 271, but Cook, who has missed one game due to injury, is averaging 22.8 attempts per game to Henry’s 22.6.
“I’m here to do whatever my team asks upon me,” Cook said. “If it’s 38, 40, 44 (touches), whatever it is.”
In good hands
Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd compared safety Harrison Smith and linebacker Eric Wilson to an insurance company.
“I was joking with (Wilson) and (Smith), they’re like Allstate,” Boyd said.
Both Smith and Wilson play nearly every snap. Since Anthony Barr was lost for the season in Week 2 with a torn pectoral muscle, Wilson has played every snap in each of the last 10 games.
“Maybe it means he can count on me,” Wilson said of being called “Allstate.”
With Kendricks not playing against the Jaguars, Wilson took over his role of wearing the headset and calling defensive plays. He said he did that in college at Cincinnati.
“The key to being able to make the calls and make sure everybody’s on the same page is understanding the defense, understanding the calls,” he said.
Briefly
–Zimmer declined to provide any details on why the Vikings released cornerback Holton Hill on Tuesday off injured reserve. “Just a decision,” he said. Hill, who was in his third Minnesota season, played in the first four games, with two starts, before suffering a foot injury.
-Tampa Bay has plenty of stars, but Zimmer said he’s not worried about his young players being in awe of them. “They can’t worry too much about the aura of the great players that they have,” he said. “They like to play, and I think that’s what we’re going to have to focus on and not how many Super Bowls (Tom) Brady and (Rob) Gronkowski have won.”
–Zimmer said his mentor, hall of fame coach Bill Parcells, is quite the Kendricks fan. “I love how Eric plays the game,” Zimmer said. “I know Parcells told me he’s his favorite player.”
"Short" - Google News
December 10, 2020 at 09:00AM
https://ift.tt/3qFp6FY
Short at tight end, source says Vikings to sign Hale Hentges - Grand Forks Herald
"Short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QJPxcA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Short at tight end, source says Vikings to sign Hale Hentges - Grand Forks Herald"
Post a Comment