Minnesota Vikings fans held their collective breath, on Sunday, while Sam Darnold sat on the U.S. Bank Stadium turf surrounded by coaches, teammates and team medical staff. He eventually walked over to injury tent and on the sideline, before returning under center. He missed just one play, but that handful of minutes felt like an eternity.
After the game, neither Sam Darnold nor head coach Kevin O’Connell felt good enough about his condition to tamp down concerns from reporters, If anything, they made it worse. Which has made for an odd morning in Vikings land.
Kevin O’Connell gives Sam Darnold injury update
So, we’ve spent our morning with the Sam Darnold injury cloud following us around everywhere, just waiting to rain on any thought of enthusiasm over our 3-0 squad. But then, right before Kevin O’Connell came out for his 1 PM Monday afternoon press conference, news broke that Sam’s injury was not structural. Just a knee bruise. Thank the football gods. KOC walked up to the podium shortly after, and gave a more detailed update.
#Vikings QB Sam Darnold’s MRI revealed a knee bruise and no structural damage, per source. pic.twitter.com/CdWuEuNlwR
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 23, 2024
Coach O’Connell gives update on Darnold pic.twitter.com/FJbF98QN18
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 23, 2024
“Sam Darnold update. I think you guys have probably already heard, but really good news, positive news. Extensive evaluations this morning really just revealing a knee bruise in there. A little sore, but I am hoping Sam can have a normal week of preparation.”
There you have it. Not only do we not have to worry about losing our starting quarterback for an extended period of time, but it doesn’t sound like he will mess any practice time this week, let alone game action. Wow… as a Minnesota sports fan, I’m almost surprised the news was this positive. Finally, the good guys get some good news.
We deserve it.