Vikings could have a significant problem for their next game vs. the Bears
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings might be without their long snapper in Week 10.
With one of their final picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings decided to select former Air Force long snapper, Austin Cutting.
It was a bit of a puzzling choice since most teams typically don’t spend a draft pick on a long snapper. Since 2015, a grand total of six long snappers have been selected in the NFL Draft, including Cutting.
But the Vikings had a high amount of interest in Cutting and they didn’t want to take a chance on him getting signed by another team once the draft ended.
Minnesota Vikings long snapper might be out for their Week 10 game
It’s pretty safe to say that long snappers are some of the most underappreciated players in the sport of football. Despite their lack of praise, long snappers are extremely important when it comes to a team’s success in punting and kicking.
Cutting has done well since joining Minnesota’s roster in 2019, but the team might have to take the field without him for their upcoming Monday night battle against the Chicago Bears.
On Tuesday, the Vikings announced that the 24-year-old long snapper was placed on the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list. Just as a reminder, when a team places a player on their Reserve/COVID-19 list, it is not necessarily due to that player testing positive for the virus.
In fact, the Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson has reported that Cutting was not placed on the list because of a positive test result. Instead, he was in close contact with someone who did contract the virus according to Tomasson
Cutting will now have to test negative for the COVID-19 virus for five consecutive days before he can return to the team. Luckily for him, Minnesota’s next game isn’t until Monday, so he still has an opportunity to play in the matchup.
Considering the Vikings are coming off a game in which they had two punts blocked, Cutting missing Monday night’s game could make their struggles on special teams even worse.