The Minnesota Vikings (10-6) knew that they faced a steep challenge when they found out that they would go down to the Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints (13-3) on Sunday. On Friday, the Vikings announced that cornerbacks Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes would miss the game with neck injuries. In fact, Hughes’ injury was serious enough that the team placed him on injured reserve, ending his season. Without his starting nickel corner, head coach Mike Zimmer and company now have to adapt again to solve a Saints offense that averaged 40 points per game during the final four weeks of the season.
Minnesota Vikings Nickel Cornerbacks Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes Out Sunday vs New Orleans Saints
Testing the Cornerback Depth
The Vikings normally boast a stingy defense, but in 2019, things haven’t been as tight. Most of the blame has fallen on Minnesota’s cornerbacks. With former Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes having the worst season of his career, teams began targeting him. His counterpart Trae Waynes had another solid yet unspectacular season. Alexander, however, played the best out of the three, rarely getting beat on the deep shots downfield that Rhodes and Waynes routinely got beat on.
Hughes, who struggled early on in the season as he came back from an ACL tear in 2018, began progressing as the season wore on. He was able to spell Rhodes and, as a result, Rhodes’ play began to improve as he appeared fresher down the stretch. With the loss of Alexander and Hughes, the Vikings will likely lean on second-year corner Holton Hill to continue rotating in as well as hybrid safety/cornerback Jayron Kearse, who played a huge role in the goal-line stand in a win against the Denver Broncos. Also, don’t be surprised to see rookie Kris Boyd see some reps as coaches have praised his play publicly in the past month.
Finally, Hughes has been the team’s primary punt returner this season. With his move to IR, the Vikings re-signed longtime special teamer Marcus Sherels on Friday.
Not All Bad News on the Injury Front
Despite the loss of Alexander and Hughes, the Vikings got good news when All-Pro middle linebacker Eric Kendricks was a full participant in practice Friday after being limited on Thursday and a non-participant on Wednesday with a quad injury. He was not on the final injury report.
Reserve defensive end Stephen Weatherly also came back to practice Friday after missing the previous two days with an undisclosed illness. Breakout reserve defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who is third on the team with seven sacks, dealt with a hamstring injury during the week and was limited. He is questionable for the game on Sunday. Everyone else is healthy going into the game.
