Vikings linebacker to sit out entire 2020 NFL season

The Minnesota Vikings will be short a linebacker during the 2020 NFL season.

2020 has been an odd year for many people. For example, the Minnesota Vikings will be skipping all their preseason games this year and will have to work without recently signed defensive tackle Michael Pierce after he opted out dut to COVID-19 concerns.

However, Pierce will not be the only player to miss the entire 2020 campaign with health concerns as it was announced today on Twitter that a second-year linebacker will be sitting out the season as well.

According to Minnesota Vikings team reporter Eric Smith on Twitter, Cameron Smith has announced his lack of availability for the upcoming season.

The announcement originated from the Instagram account of Smith, where he shared with fans his need for open-heart surgery to fix an issue he has dealt with for his entire life. He learned of the issue following a positive test for COVID-19 cause him to look deeper into his health.

Being able to catch and repair this issue before serious damage is done is truly a blessing. Smith goes on in his post to say that once he recovers from the surgery that he will be able to return to the field and join his teammates again.

Smith’s teammates left some encouraging messages on the post. Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., Chad Beebe, Anthony Barr, and others offered him well wishes and a speedy, full recovery from the procedure.

A fifth-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Smith was set to compete for a backup role in the linebacker grouping this season. Last season, the Vikings had him on 52 special teams snaps and 33 defensive plays where he earned eight total tackles (four solo) in five games played.

We at The Viking Age would like to wish Cameron Smith a full and speedy recovery from his surgery and look forward to his return to the Minnesota Vikings whenever his health will permit him to do so.