Quarterback Taylor Heinicke ‘excited for the opportunity’ to start against Minnesota Vikings
Jan 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) and guard Ezra Cleveland (72) greet fans after the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports.
Coming into Week 8, the Vikings would indeed be a playoff team after Stefon Diggs’ Bills defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That comes a couple of weeks after most folks expected the Vikings to blow up the team, with Justin Jefferson having to be placed on IR and a horrendous 1-4 record. But the current Vikings are a confident bunch after winning two straight.
Vikings Have Good News on the Injury Front
Because of the recent success and the opinion that they were better than their record suggested even prior to those performances, the purple team wants to march into Lambeau Field on Monday and beat the rivals. The Packers will be without Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre on the roster for the first time in roughly three decades. Jordan Love is trying to replicate their success but has a long way to go compared to the two legends of the sport.
Minnesota will still be without Marcus Davenport and Jefferson, but another Viking will be active on gameday, as head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed on Friday. T.J. Hockenson, who briefly left Monday’s contest against the 49ers, is good to go despite missing Wednesday’s walkthrough practice.
Offensive guard Ezra Cleveland, who exited Week 6 against the Bears and missed Week 7, is questionable. He was replaced by Dalton Risner. The veteran played a wonderful game against San Francisco’s strong defensive front. It remains to be seen who the Vikings name starter once both are healthy.
Asked about Cleveland, O’Connell responded: “He’s gotten some reps in there and we’re just trying to gauge right now where he’s at from a standpoint of being able to be 100% Sunday at noon. Dalton has had a good week as well in prep and regardless of how it works out with the active roster things, we’ll be just determined on what we think is best based on Ezra’s feelings Sunday morning.”
Brian Asamoah has been ruled out because of an ankle injury. He entered training camp as the starting linebacker, but rookie sensation Ivan Pace took that job from him. Pace didn’t play much in the last few games as defensive coordinator Brian Flores puts a huge emphasis on having extra defensive backs on the field. It simply becomes a numbers game, leaving no room in the lineup for Pace. Asamoah will be missed on special teams. O’Connell said that he hopes to get him back next week.
When Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Kirk Cousins went down with a season-ending ACL injury over the weekend, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell made it clear that the team was going to look into acquiring a veteran quarterback for the remainder of the season, leading some fans to wonder if that veteran quarterback would be Tom Brady. But it looks like the team decided to go in a different direction.
While many hoped and wondered if the Minnesota Vikings would be able to successfully lure Tom Brady out of retirement once again, given that the team is a playoff contender with a strong receiving corps, the team instead opted to add a different veteran quarterback: Joshua Dobbs.
Just before the NFL’s Oct. 31 trade deadline, the Minnesota Vikings acquired veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals, trading a sixth-round pick in return for Dobbs and a seventh-round pick.
While Brady could still technically come out of retirement and sign with any team he wishes since his ownership stake of the Las Vegas Raiders has not been approved, it’s pretty clear that the Vikings have found the veteran quarterback they intend to move forward with for the remainder of this season – and it’s not Brady.
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