For the second consecutive year, Olabisi Johnson has suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Vikings wideout tore his ACL, as confirmed (on Twitter ) by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The injury occurred during Minnesota’s preseason finale and affects the other knee than the one which caused him to miss the 2021 campaign. That comes as small consolation given the fact that the 25-year-old will have to begin the recovery process over again, after putting together an impressive training camp.
A seventh-round pick in 2019, Johnson started six games as a rookie. With a stat line of 31/294/3, he showed plenty of potential, raising expectations for his second season. He remained healthy in 2020 but saw a drop in production. Nevertheless, last season’s injury was a major blow to his development, especially in the context of this latest one. The Colorado State alum will now head towards free agency at the end of his rookie contract having missed two full campaigns by the time it expires.
The Vikings will still have one of the league’s most dangerous WR duos in Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, of course; K.J. Osborn represents an intriguing third option at the position as well. Still, head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s impressions of Johnson will make his absence a notable one for the team’s offense.
Along with Johnson, defensive tackle T.Y. McGill suffered an injury last night. Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the 29-year-old has a right ankle sprain, and will miss one or two weeks.
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