Can Mike Hughes become the Vikings No. 1 corner in 2020?
By Dean Jones
Hughes’ injury problems
To say Mike Hughes has been luckless with injuries during his time with the Vikings would be something of an understatement.
He has endured several problems that have hampered his ability to produce consistently on the field. It may have also impacted his long-term future if things do not take a step forward next season.
Hughes’ rookie campaign was cut short when the first-round pick suffered a torn ACL in his sixth game that put him on injured reserve. Injuries such as this take a long time to come back from and normally see a return to full fitness after a year of competitive action.
That should bode well for Hughes’ chances of a more increased role in 2020. What is more concerning is the broken vertebra in his neck that ended his 2019 season prematurely.
This denied Hughes a chance to compete in the playoffs for the first time. Although Mike Zimmer said the player should be, “good to go,” next season, it can only add to the uncertainty surrounding his long-term aspirations in the NFL.
When a player suffers various ailments during the initial stages of their career, history states that they do not reach their potential. Hughes did appear in 14 games last season following his knee injury in 2018, albeit on a rotational basis, which is a cause for encouragement.
The neck area is not something that one can take too many chances with and hopefully it is something Hughes can come back from.