Following the Vikings' 24-16 preseason loss to the Titans on Saturday night, head coach Kevin O'Connell provided injury updates on a couple players.
NaJee Thompson
Thompson made another incredible play as a punt gunner in the first quarter of this game, flying downfield to make a perfectly-timed tackle for the second consecutive week. The undrafted rookie out of Georgia State is a special teams weapon who seems like a near-lock to make the 53-man roster all of a sudden.
Unfortunately, Thompson's helmet came off awkwardly on the play and he started feeling concussion symptoms shortly afterwards, according to O'Connell. He was removed from the game and will presumably go into the concussion protocol this week, meaning he won't return until he's medically cleared. Thompson's status for this week's joint practices and next Saturday's preseason finale are unknown, but he's likely already done enough to make the team.
N'Keal Harry
This was supposed to be another opportunity for Harry to compete to make the Vikings' roster. Instead, he suffered a minor injury in warmups and the team held him out to be cautious.
Harry "had a little bit of a soft tissue aggravation in warmups," O'Connell said. "We wanted to be smart with him, instead of trying to make him push through it. But that was unfortunate. Wanted to see him tonight."
More notes
- There was no update from O'Connell on Jalen Nailor, who has been out since the first day of training camp, but he did bring him up when discussing the Vikings' wide receiver room after the game. "I would love to get Jalen Nailor some work here at some point if we can," O'Connell said. "But he's a player that I think very highly of."
- DBs Theo Jackson and Tay Gowan picked up minor shoulder injuries in this game, O'Connell said. Jackson was able to return to action, which suggests he'll be good to go this week.
- Other players who didn't participate on Saturday for injury reasons: Jordan Addison, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, Kene Nwangwu, Brian Asamoah, Jaquelin Roy, and Garett Maag. T.J. Hockenson and Brian O'Neill are on the mend but wouldn't have played anyways. The Vikings expect to get Addison (concussion protocol) back this week. Nwangwu's absence has lasted longer than expected.
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