Vikings Rule Out Trio of Players For Thankgiving Game

The Minnesota Vikings will host the New England Patriots this Thursday for NBC's Thankgiving game, but they'll be short a few stars when they do it. Offensive lineman Christian Darrisaw, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., and defensive back Akayleb Evans will all miss tomorrow night's matchup after being declared out by the team Wednesday afternoon.

#NEvsMIN injury report

OUT: Andrew Booth, Jr., Christian Darrisaw and Akayleb Evans

QUESTIONABLE: Dalvin Tomlinson
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 23, 2022

Darrisaw suffered a concussion in the Vikings' heinous 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11. Booth also aggravated a knee injury in the game. Evans missed last week with a concussion suffered in Week 10's 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.

Darrisaw is one of the league's elite young tackles, and his absence last week played a huge part in the unravelling of the Vikings passing attack. Quarterback Kirk Cousins absorbed seven crunching sacks and netted a mere 56 passing yards on 30 dropbacks. Darrisaw's absence could loom large against a Patriots team that sports edge rusher Matt Judon, the league's leading sacker.

The Vikings defense will also have struggles of its own with defensive backs Booth Jr. and Evans unavailable. Booth and Evans were the 42nd and 118th overall picks of this year's draft. Their injuries may stretch the Vikings' secondary to its breaking point. Thankfully, they have a struggling Patriots passing attack on deck. Second-year quarterback Mac Jones sports an 80.8 passer rating and 3.6% interception rate in his seven starts this year.