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The 2021 Minnesota Vikings training camp got off to a flying start, featuring a happy edition of Mike Zimmer with rookie Kellen Mond delivering bombs to fellow rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Third-year offensive lineman Oli Udoh was evaluating the depth chart for a crack at the RG1 concert. New kicker Greg Joseph had a perfect second day at camp. Michael Pierce’s calf injury has been revealed as a minor.
It’s like a million years ago now.
News broke on Saturday that WR3-WR4 Bisi Johnson had been lost for the 2021 season with a torn ACL. He was injured the day before in training but returned with a leg brace. Normally, Johnson’s injury would mar a good first few days in camp – but this development was just the tip of the iceberg for terrible news.
Then details dribbled that Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley would be all miss Minnesota’s Saturday night practice, a paid event that allows fans to see the team under the lights. So what is it ?
Well, that was the fallout from an emerging COVID vaccination ordeal. These three quarters are obviously not vaccinated. So when Mond contracted the coronavirus, Cousins and Stanley went down for the NFL’s close contact safety protocols.
And that opened the curtains on the standing Vikings vaccine. By implication, spectators learned that Jake Browning – who is vying for the position of QB2 – is the only Vikings quarterback to be vaccinated. Ergo, he played all of the Vikings quarterback training last weekend, minus some great wild forfeits involving Dalvin Cook.
When the “team vaccination percentages” were released a few weeks ago, the Vikings were not mentioned as offenders. The most egregious group was the Washington football team. Ron Rivera’s team have since rallied, vaccinating 84% of the players. The Vikings have replaced the football team, according to reports mentioned yesterday.
At the moment, Minnesota is the least vaccinated organization in the NFL, sparking anger from the Vikings head coach and concern over ownership.
The NFL team with the lowest vaccination rate is the #Vikings with only 64.5% fully vaccinated. https://t.co/j02wOZhqSh
– Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 3, 2021
Here is the documentation of Owner Mark Wilf’s sentiment on it:
Mark Wilf Says Vikings ‘Very Concerned’ About Vaccine Situation Want Everyone To Be Vaccinated
– Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 3, 2021
As the dirty little secret about the Vikings’ lack of vaccination was announced to the world, the franchise eases the situation of Jeff Gladney. The 2020 rookie is said to have caused trouble in Texas in April, arrested for a vicious assault on his girlfriend (at least that’s what the prosecution claims). On Tuesday, he was indicted by a Texas grand jury. That was enough for the Vikings as Gladney was released after a four-month wait on the team’s part.
The Vikings have now released 2020 1st round pick CB Jeff Gladney after being indicted today by a grand jury in Dallas for allegedly assaulting a woman in Dallas in April.
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 3, 2021
The New York Giants had a widely reported fight in training this week involving quarterback Daniel Jones. Then the Indianapolis Colts lost two important players, Carson Wentz and Quenton Nelson, to eerily similar injuries for 5 to 12 weeks. These teams arguably encountered more unrest than the Vikings, but that’s highly questionable. Zimmer’s smiles from last Wednesday and Thursday turned into vocal frustration over the vaccines. In this regard, his frankness has returned as Zimmer is not known for his diplomatic words on Viking issues.
Fortunately, the current woes of the Vikings are redeemable. If leaders can make a plan for more vaccinations, a clear WR3 emerges in place of Bisi Johnson, and the corner room never really misses Gladney – those items will be distant memories.
But it’s a big to-do list.
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