Minnesota Vikings veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph missed his third straight practice this week due to a nagging ankle injury that he suffered against the Carolina Panthers.

According to Ben Goessling of ESPN, it has pushed head coach Mike Zimmer to declare that Rudolph will be out for Week 15 action against the Cincinnati Bengals.

https://twitter.com/GoesslingStrib/status/941733636268871680

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Rudolph has been one of the primary targets in the passing game for the Vikings this season, currently second on the team with 53 catches for 506 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. This includes posting at least three catches in all but two games while recording four touchdowns over the last three games.

His absence from the contest will push David Morgan, who is expected to play after being able to recover from a concussion to the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Kyle Carter was called up from the practice squad to fill in as the backup to Morgan for Sunday's contest.

This could shift more of the passing game dependency on the wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs along with seeing Jerick McKinnon more involved out of the backfield. The Vikings have an opportunity to clinch the NFC North division title with a win over the Bengals on Sunday afternoon.