What a great day to be Minnesota Vikings fan, amirite? It’s not the first time our favorite football team has been undefeated, after three games. But the Vikings were projected to finish near the very bottom of the NFC, this year. It’s the shock value, this time around, that has purple kool-aid drinkers everywhere overdosing on SKOL punch.
But there is some slight hesitation, and it’s not even the “remember, this is Minnesota” type of caution. Well, there is plenty of that, too. Right now, though, all worried Vikings fans are keeping an eye out for a news update on QB Sam Darnold.
While throwing for four touchdowns and zero interceptions vs the Houston Texans, Darnold had an injury scare in the 3rd quarter, after taking a sack. It was a scary moment, one that cost him one play, while he went to the injury tent. Fortunately, he emerged quickly and was deemed healthy enough to continue.
**CAUTION: This article recently became outdated – Please read the latest (good news) update on Sam Darnold’s knee injury before proceeding
Sam Darnold injury cloud hangs over Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings then went on to win 34-7. Now this morning, the entire league is talking about how impressive of a start they’ve had. So, all is good in the neighborhood, right? Well, not quite. After the game, neither Darnold nor head coach Kevin O’Connell were willing to wave off the injury scare, as nothing.
In fact, there was a moment during Sam’s postgame presser that was worrisome, to say the least.
His tone in this clip really concerns me ☹️
— cdott (@jjmccaurathy) September 23, 2024
Praying for no swelling tonight and good eval’s tomorrow 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3swEwiY5Nu
Reporter: ‘How does [your knee] feel now?’
Darnold: “It feels good. Like I said, we’re just gonna look at it tomorrow.”
Reporter: “You don’t anticipate it being something that keeps you practicing or playing or anything, do you?”
Darnold: “I’m not sure. I’m not going to speak on specifics like that. I think just evaluating it tomorrow, obviously, we’ll be able to have more information tomorrow.”
Sam Darnold after Texans game, regarding his knee injury
Any english speaking Minnesota Vikings fan would be concerned, after watching the above back-and-forth. If there was nothing to worry about, then Sam Darnold would have been much more intentional about batting down those questions. Instead, he added more intrigue and concern.
One of the reporters involved was Kevin Seifert (ESPN), and he does not feel comfortable with the answers given by either of Darnold or KOC, regarding Sam’s injured knee.
Good that he finished the game, but neither Darnold nor Kevin O'Connell tried to blow it off or suggest it's nothing after the game. If there was no issue whatsoever, there would be no need for further evaluation. https://t.co/PQcp8gRwa1
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 23, 2024
Obviously, Seifert isn’t the only person concerned about Sam Darnold’s knee, and how serious this injury could be. But when it comes to player injuries, the longtime veteran NFL reporter seems to have antennas that read situations like these a bit more clearly than others.
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Look no farther than one month ago, when J.J. McCarthy was held out of a Minnesota Vikings night practice, due to some surprise pain in his knee, after game one of the preseason, vs Las Vegas. At the time, most reporters took the Vikings at their word. I mean, JJ didn’t seem injured when he was dicing up the Raiders defense that evening.
Seifert’s concern should have you concerned…
Not Seifert, though. While talking on KFAN radio with drivetime host Dan Barreiro back on August 13, Seifert cautioned listeners that something felt weird about the way the Vikings were reporting and handling McCarthy’s injury information.
Siefert has been around the block enough times to know when incoming info, and the way it is provided, makes sense, and when it doesn’t. And something felt off to him… just like it does now, with Darnold. Here’s Seifert back in mid-August on KFAN.
“I remember when I first started covering sports. You know, I was advised always overestimate injuries, and that was when I was covering baseball, because you know that whenever they told you there was a little tweak, it turned out to be a rotator cuff or something like that. So in this case, that that advice applied. They told initially it was soreness, but something causes that soreness.”
“Had it been as minor, as you know, the best case scenario would have been maybe that they wouldn’t have neat felt the need to be that upfront about it. So I did not know that he had a torn meniscus, but it felt like it was more than just you know, the soreness you get after playing in your first game in a few months.”
Kevin Seifert – KFAN Radio on August 13, 2024
Sure enough, a couple of days later, the NFL scribe’s concerns were validated. McCarthy had a torn meniscus that needed season-ending knee surgery.
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Now, that same veteran reporter is sounding the same alarm about a Minnesota Vikings quarterback. Sam Darnold is having his MRI today, so let’s just cross our fingers and hope that Seifert’s sixth sense is wrong this time around…