Sharrif Floyd is still dealing with nagging injuries from last season and yes this is a concern.
The Vikings’ first round of OTAs certainly gave us plenty of stuff to chew on. One of the more unfortunate revelations from this week? Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is still not back to 100% after last year’s injuries.
Floyd last year missed three full games plus parts of various others with a variety of knee, ankle and foot issues, including one injury that reportedly required the removal of a small piece of cartilage.
Five months off were not enough for Floyd to fully recover from those ailments and he was forced to sit out the first three OTA sessions.
The Vikings naturally are downplaying the severity of Floyd’s issues, saying the defensive tackle will be ready to go for training camp (per ESPN).
It’s hard to know how seriously to take these assurances considering the Vikings’ habit of always downplaying every injury situation.
For Sharrif Floyd’s sake, I hope his injury isn’t too severe. Floyd’s fifth-year option was picked up by the Vikings but if he wants to earn a truly big pay-day he needs to stay healthy.
Health has been the biggest thing holding back Floyd during his career. When he’s been healthy, he’s shown that he can be a great penetrator and playmaker from the 3-tech. It’s been pretty frustrating watching Floyd come on strong only to be stopped by another injury.
Floyd’s trouble staying on the field was a big reason why I thought the Vikings might target defensive tackle reasonably high in the draft this year. That the Vikings elected not to draft a DT in the second or third round could be taken as a sign that they’re not worried about Floyd’s injuries.
Whatever signs the Vikings are sending off about Floyd, I think his injury history remains a concern. Until Floyd proves that he can stay reasonably healthy through a full 16-game schedule there will still be reason to worry.