The Viking Age » mickey shuler

Vikings Training Camp 2012: John Carlson Suffers Sprained MCL

Dan Zinski — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 23:08:06 +0000

The Vikings have experienced their first semi-serious injury of training camp. Tuesday in afternoon practice drills TE John Carlson did something to his knee and was forced to leave the field. Examination showed a sprained MCL, but the full extent of the damage won’t be known until an MRI can be performed. Carlson will at the very least miss a few weeks.

Surgery will likely not be necessary if indeed the injury turns out to be a sprain and not a tear. “It heals by itself so it’s a little bit more of a pain-tolerance thing, depending on how he feels,” Leslie Frazier said after practice.

The Vikings signed Carlson to a free agent contract this offseason in hopes of teaming him with Kyle Rudolph to form a deadly 1-2 TE punch, but those plans are on hold at least for the time being. Carlson of course has previous experience with big injuries. His 2011 season ended prematurely when he tore his labrum and was placed on IR by Seattle.

With Carlson on the shelf, the Vikings now have Mickey Shuler and Allen Reisner behind Rudolph, and rookie Rhett Ellison who is listed as a TE but projects as an H-back.

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Vikings Sign Hank Baskett, Waive Mickey Shuler

Dan Zinski — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:03:51 +0000

Hank Baskett is back for a second go-around with the Vikings. A day after the Eagles cut the one-time Minnesota training camp hero, the Vikes added him to their much-discussed receiver corps, signing him to a one-year deal.

To make room for Baskett, the Vikings waived tight end Mickey Shuler.

Baskett has gained a certain notoriety in the years since he first toiled for the Vikings, first by marrying Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson, then by dropping an onside kick in the Super Bowl as a member of the Colts. That’s a mixed-bag if I ever saw one.

It’s unlikely that Baskett will be the man to solve the Vikings’ passing woes. However, at 6-4, he does give Brett Favre the tall receiver he says he wants. The fans would’ve prefered Vincent Jackson – and probably Favre would have too – but that possibility looks all-but-dead.

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Draft Day 3: Wrapping it Up

Dan Zinski — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:40:00 +0000

The Vikings made it an even split between offense and defense on day 3 of the draft.

On the defensive side, the big pick was DE Everson Griffen, a large talent whose commitment often came into question in college.

Griffen has the potential to be a starter some day, especially if the Vikes and Ray Edwards end up parting ways. But he also has the potential to be an even bigger headache than Edwards.

Linebacker was the other position the Vikes addressed heavily on day 3, taking Gopher Nate Triplett and Ryan D’Imperio of Rutgers. Neither figures to be much in the mix this year, but with Ben Leber coming to the end of his contract, who knows what either of them might be down the road.

Offensively, the Vikes addressed the lack of offensive line depth by drafting Wake Forest guard Chris DeGeare.

They also added to their receiver corps by taking UAB’s Joe Webb, who played quarterback in college, but will not be getting any action behind center in Minnesota.

Rounding out the picks was tight end Mickey Shuler of Penn State. Again, don’t expect to see much from this guy in the near-term.

Like I said, Griffen is the guy to keep an eye on as a potential starter. The rest of these fellows? They fill out the training camp roster nicely and some may even make the practice squad.