Before Tuesday's training camp practice, the Minnesota Vikings gave an update on a pair of injured defensive backs as cornerback Shaquil Griffin and safety Lewis Cine are working their way back after recently getting hurt.
Griffin was injured last week when he suffered a lower-body soft tissue injury while making an interception during practice. While the exact injury was unknown, and Griffin appeared to be walking under his own power, Griffin told reporters, including ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, that he hurt his hamstring.
Griffin hasn’t practiced since the injury, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters before Tuesday’s practice that Griffin is making progress in his recovery. But Griffin and O’Connell both declined to put a timetable on his return, making his status unclear.
Minnesota Vikings secondary battling multiple injuries in training camp
While losing Griffin was a big blow, the Vikings have also lost Lewis Cine due to a “lower leg” injury. According to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, O’Connell classified the injury as a “strain,” and Cine is “day-to-day” in his recovery.
Both injuries come at a bad time for both the Vikings and the players involved. Minnesota came into training camp short on secondary depth after the tragic death of Khyree Jackson on July 6, and Mekhi Blackmon, who was projected as a potential starter, tore his ACL during the Vikings’ first team practice on July 24.
The Vikings signed Griffin to be a starter at the other outside spot, but his injury has kept him off the field. Losing valuable reps in Brian Flores’s defense isn’t a positive development, and the Vikings would probably like to have him back soon, as Akayleb Evans and Andrew Booth Jr. are the next players on the depth chart.
The situation with Cine is even more dire. The former first-round pick missed most of his rookie season due to a broken leg, but he was a healthy scratch multiple times during the final months of the 2023 season. This set up a big training camp for Cine, but his injury prompted the Vikings to recently sign veteran defensive back Brian McCain, who lined up at safety with the second team during Monday’s practice.
With Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, NaJee Thompson, and now McCain on the depth chart, Cine has to overcome a lot just to make the team out of camp.
O’Connell mentioned during Saturday’s press conference that the Vikings are working on signing “an impact player” in the secondary, but nothing seems imminent at this stage of camp.
Whatever the Vikings’ plan is, they’re running out of healthy players, and they’ll need to either get healthy or make an addition to make 2024 a successful season.