The smiles didn’t last too long for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. After having secured two-time All-Pro safety Harrison Smith to a sizable four-year deal, they got some [more] bad news on the injury front. Irv Smith, the team’s starting tight end, is reportedly expected to undergo surgery to repair meniscus damage, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. It’s unclear what the timetable for return is on Smith, but with the regular season opener set to kickoff for the Vikings on Sept. 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Smith’s odds of recovering in time for that aren’t promising — if they exist at all.
Smith is set to potentially have a breakout year in 2021, after being a solid rotational target for quarterback Kirk Cousins over the previous two seasons. A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Smith is a former second-team All-SEC talent who made an impact with 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns in only seven starts as a rookie. He’d up both numbers in Year 2, finishing with 365 receiving yards and five touchdowns in the same number of starts.
With head coach Mike Zimmer looking to fully unleash him in 2021, it stands to reason Smith could do some real damage this coming season, and that is especially true when factoring in the presence of Adam Thielen and breakout receiving star Justin Jefferson for opposing defenses to account for.
Instead, Smith must now go under the knife and then work to recover as quickly and as safely as possible — hoping to avoid any possible setbacks that would extend his absence. As the Vikings get a clearer picture of his prognosis, they’ll have a better idea of when to expect him back on the field, but it seems a foregone conclusion he won’t be ready only 14 days after surgery; although stranger things have happened in the NFL.
It’s time for the Vikings to make their move in the NFC North. Can Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson get the job done? Download the CBS Sports app to get the latest headlines from our team of NFL experts. If you’ve already downloaded the CBS Sports app, favorite the Vikings right now to get all the top headlines out of Minnesota.
