Some big names are on the injury report for the Week 1 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, September 9, 2018.
The Minnesota Vikings will get their first taste of regular season action when they take on Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium in front of an ocean of purple and gold fans.
One of the most important parts of being competitive in the NFL is having your players being available to play. Sadly, injuries happen all the time in the league, and sometimes those impact players might not even be ready for the start of the season.
Here are the injury reports for each team according to the official websites of the Vikings and the 49ers:
Minnesota Vikings
Out
- Aviante Collins, OT – Elbow
- Pat Elflein, C – Ankle/shoulder
- Roc Thomas, RB – Ankle
Doubtful
- Mackensie Alexander, CB – ankle
Questionable
- Xavier Rhodes, CB – Hamstring
With Collins out, rookie Brian O’Neill will be acting as the Vikings backup swing tackle. Meanwhile, Elflein wasn’t expected to be ready for this game and Brett Jones was acquired to hold things over until he can join the lineup. Also, only one running back between Thomas and Mike Boone was going to be active, and this makes that decision easy and gives a dinged up player time to recover.
If Alexander can’t go, expect rookie Mike Hughes to get the start in nickel packages. While it would be his first NFL action, Hughes seemed more than capable during the preseason of performing the duties.
It would be a massive loss to the Vikings if Rhodes can’t play. He can be a game changer with his suffocating defense by taking away an option for opposing quarterbacks.
San Francisco 49ers
Out
- Erik Magnuson, OL – Hamstring
- Dekoda Watson, LB/DE – Hamstring
Doubtful
- Malcolm Smith, LB – Hamstring
Questionable
- – none –
Having Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Smith listed as doubtful could be a big blow to the 49ers defense. However, both Magnuson and Watson are backups who may not have seen much action during the game even if they were healthy.
Of course, San Francisco will also be without Jerick McKinnon, who suffered an ACL tear while practicing during the preseason and was placed on injured reserve.
If Mackensie Alexander and Xavier Rhodes are both healthy enough to play in Week 1, the Minnesota Vikings will have all their expected starters ready for their first matchup of the 2018 NFL regular season!