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Throughout this entire week, there has been much attention brought toward Minnesota Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Adam Thielen dealing with a nagging back injury.
It had forced Thielen to miss a day of practice while it has now pushed the Vikings to label him as a questionable status for the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
Coach Zimmer says @athielen19 will be listed as questionable.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 19, 2018
All of this injury concern stemmed from him missing Wednesday's practice where he was only seen participating in some stretches and light jogging with the team prior to individual drills. Thielen has voiced no concern about the injury preventing him from play and was able to take the practice field on a limited basis on Friday. What should also be noted is that he has yet to miss a single game in first four years in the league.
The 27-year-old has arguably been the Vikings’ most dependable receiver this season after putting together a breakout year with 91 catches for 1,276 receiving yards with four touchdowns. This has helped him become the first player in team history to post 1,000 receiving yards since Sidney Rice back in 2009. He also posted at least five catches in all but three games while surpassing 100 receiving yards five times.
Thielen put up a strong outing against the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round last Sunday where he made six receptions on nine targets for 74 receiving yards. If he is able to take the field against the Eagles, he will likely play a significant role in the passing game.
However, his potential absence would shift the bulk of the throws from Case Keenum over to wideout Stefon Diggs, who had six catches on 10 targets for 137 receiving yards and a touchdown. This included the game-winning touchdown on a 61-yard reception that came on the final play of the fourth quarter. The Vikings could also lean more on the running game with Latavius Murray leading the charge.
