Vikings Get Terrible News on Irv Smith Jr. Injury Update

The Minnesota Vikings were dealt some crushing injury news on Wednesday after it was reported Irv Smith Jr. underwent surgery to repair his meniscus. With the surgery, Smith will likely end his 2021 season before Week 1 kickoff.

Meniscus surgery generally required a 4-5 month recovery, meaning an early end to Smith's third NFL season.

Irv Smith Jr. Injury Update

Minnesota did address their tight end depth with the trade for Chris Herndon on Tuesday and he provides a potential option as the No. 1 tight end on Minnesota's roster. However, Minnesota will miss out on the potential from their former second-round draft pick.

In 2020, Smith saw action in 13 games and recorded 7 starts. The third-year tight end converted. 43 targets into 30 receptions for 365 yards and 5 touchdowns, all while splitting time with Kyle Rudolph. The young tight end was poised to take over the starting role and his is certainly a disappointing turn of events.

The Vikings head into Week 1 as 3.5-point road favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.