BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Vikings dodged a second significant injury loss in two days.
Minnesota No. 2 wide receiver Jordan Addison is expected to miss some time with a left ankle injury sustained on Wednesday — just hours after Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was ruled out for the season following knee surgery.
While it’s not known exactly how long Addison will be sidelined, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Thursday that the 22-year-old, who had 70 catches and 10 touchdowns last season as a rookie, isn’t seriously hurt.
“He’ll work through the rehab process and (we) look forward to getting him back as fast as possible,” O’Connell said after the second of two joint practices against the Browns. “Don’t see him missing any extended time or anything like that.”
Addison got hurt when he appeared to step on a Cleveland defender’s foot after jumping to try and catch a pass from Vikings starting quarterback Sam Darnold. He got up and tried to walk before stumbling and needing assistance. He was driven off the field on a cart.
Star receiver Justin Jefferson said he felt confident Addison wasn’t hurt too badly.
“I mean I kind of seen it from the field, seen when it happened that it wasn’t going to be a major injury,” Jefferson said. “But it always sucks to see your main guy, a starter go down with an injury like that and he’ll be down for a few weeks.
“But we need him for Week 1 and as long as we got him for Week 1, we’re good.”
The Vikings open the regular season on Sept. 8 at the New York Giants.
A first-round pick in 2023, Addison was sensational in his first season and proved to be a perfect complement to Jefferson, one of the NFL’s most talented receivers.
O’Connell also said wide receiver Thayer Thomas is in concussion protocol after getting hurt on Wednesday and linebacker Blake Cashman needed stitches for an unspecified injury and should be back soon.
The Vikings were still processing the jarring news about McCarthy, who tore meniscus in his knee at some point in his preseason debut last week against Las Vegas.
While McCarthy probably wasn’t going to win the starting job, he was pushing Darnold, who signed a one-year contract with Minnesota to serve as a bridge as the Vikings developed a younger QB.
“Obviously very sad news,” said Darnold.
McCarthy might not take any snaps in his first season, but Darnold said the former Michigan star can benefit in other ways.
“There’s so much that you can learn from being sidelined or being able to watch during practice, watch the tape from games,” he said. “Even just being on the sideline during games, there’s a ton that you can learn from being sidelined.”
Jefferson agreed, saying McCarthy can draw off the support from teammates as he works his way back.
“It’s tough to have to sit out even longer and fulfill that dream that you’ve been dreaming, but we’re going to be right behind him this whole entire time,” Jefferson said. “We are always going to give him that spirit, that uplifting spirit of everything’s going to be OK and he can just take this time out and really learn the system, learn how everything goes.”
NOTES: O’Connell hasn’t decided how much he’ll play his starters in Saturday’s exhibition against the Browns. ... Vikings WR Trishton Jackson was engaged in some heated trash talk with a guest of one of the Browns players. After catching a TD pass, Jackson sprinted out of the end zone with the ball, looking to show it to the person who by then had quieted down. ... Jefferson had some 1-on-1 battles against Browns DB Martin Emerson Jr., whom he believes can be elite. “He’s a long, physical corner and he’s definitely going to cause some problems out there on the field,” Jefferson said. “It’s great to go up against corners like that to give me extra work or just put an extra little boost in my play style.”
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