The Vikings are not activating WR Justin Jefferson off IR this weekend, meaning he won't play Sunday night against the Broncos. Minnesota will need to activate Jefferson for Week 12 -- or leave him on IR for the rest of the season. Jefferson got the "questionable" label on Friday's practice report, so we're assuming he'll be ready to play next week. But we'll certainly be watching for confirmation. Jefferson's continued absence leaves target share available for TE T.J. Hockenson, WR Jordan Addison, and others. It also hurts the upside of QB Joshua Dobbs.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson appears unlikely to play Sunday against the Broncos. ESPN's Kevin Seifert reports that Jefferson is "continuing to ramp up" in his return from a hamstring injury "but would need to make a lot of quick progress to play Sunday night." That doesn't mean he's out for the week just yet. But you'll need to plan as though you won't have Jefferson in your fantasy lineup. We'll be watching throughout the rest of the week for more updates on the star WR. For now, we've knocked him out of our Week 11 WR rankings and adjusted the projections for teammates such as QB Joshua Dobbs (down) and TE T.J. Hockenson (up).

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs) is active for today’s game vs. the Saints. ESPN’s Ed Werder said this morning that Hockenson “won’t play as many snaps as normal but will be on field in key situations.” We’re still expecting him to be out there for most pass plays, so Hockenson is fine to keep in Week 10 fantasy lineups.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs) "won’t play as many snaps as normal" vs. the Saints today, according to ESPN's Ed Werder. Hockenson "will be on field in key situations," Werder adds. We'd expect those "key situations" to be pass plays. This is a case where Hockenson's snaps could be down, but his pass routes could be right in line with usual. He carries some added risk today but remains a fine fantasy play at the weak TE position.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs) is expected to play today vs. the Saints. He's officially questionable, but we've been expecting the TE to go. We'll get confirmation around 11:30 a.m. ET.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Saints. He was able to play through this injury last week and should be fine for this weekend's contest. We'll get Minnesota's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.

Vikings WR K.J. Osborn (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. He's unlikely to be cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Saints. With WR Justin Jefferson also not expected to play, Minnesota will be down to WRs Jordan Addison, Brandon Powell, Trishton Jackson, N'Keal Harry, and Jalen Nailor. Addison and TE T.J. Hockenson should easily lead in targets.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson hauled 7 of 12 targets for 69 receiving yards in Week 9 vs. the Falcons. WR Jordan Addison also had a strong performance, logging 52 yards on 5 catches in the contest. As painful as losing QB Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles was, it seems as though the recently acquired Joshua Dobbs is going to be able to float the fantasy viability of both. Next week, Hockenson and Addison will face a stingy Saints’ defense (ninth in pass defense DVOA).

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday that QB Jaren Hall will start this weekend's game vs. the Falcons. QB Josh Dobbs will need at least a week to get up to speed in the offense. Hall replaced QB Kirk Cousins last week, completing three of four passes for 23 yards on 11 snaps. The fifth-round rookie started for BYU the past two years, completing 65% of his passes at 8.6 yards per attempt with 51 TDs vs. 11 INTs. Hall also ran for 657 yards and six TDs across those two seasons and then clocked a 4.64-second 40 time at his Pro Day. There's some rushing potential here, but Hall is just a desperation QB2 play this week. He adds obvious risk to Minnesota's pass catchers.

A Monday MRI confirmed that Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in the Week 8 win over the Packers, NFL Network reports. Cousins will miss the rest of the 2023 season. His contract is set to void in March, and Cousins will turn 36 in August, leaving his football future very uncertain. The Vikings, meanwhile, are left with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion for now. QB Nick Mullens, who at least has 655 NFL pass attempts under his belt, is eligible to come off IR next week. We'll see if Minnesota makes a move for a free-agent QB or swings a trade before tomorrow's trade deadline. Regardless, Cousins' absence is bad news for all of the team's skill-position players.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson tallied 6 receptions for 88 yards and a TD in Sunday's win over the Packers. It marked the second straight week in which he set a season high for receiving yards and the first time he has found the end zone since Week 2. Unfortunately, the game also included a torn Achilles' tendon for QB Kirk Cousins, which makes Hockenson's outlook much bleaker the rest of the way. We'll see whether Minnesota addresses the position before Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is feared to have torn his Achilles in Sunday's win over the Packers, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's typically easy for doctors to diagnose a torn Achilles without any imaging. We should get confirmation tomorrow, but Cousins' 2023 season is very likely over. His absence would leave Minnesota with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion. QB Nick Mullens is currently on IR with a back injury but is eligible to return. Regardless, Cousins' injury is horrible news for Minnesota's skill-position players.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) is not listed on the final Week 8 injury report. He was limited in practice this week but will be out there for Sunday’s game vs. the Packers.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He should be on track to play vs. the Packers this weekend, but we'll see how Hockenson is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. He got banged up in Monday night's win over the 49ers but was able to play through the foot issue. We're expecting him to be out there for this weekend's game vs. the Packers but will keep you updated on his status.

Vikings WR Jordan Addison erupted in Week 7 vs. the 49ers, logging 7 catches on 10 targets for a career-high 123 receiving yards with 2 TDs. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Addison’s 6 TDs this year are tied for the most receiving scores by a rookie through the first seven games of a season in the Super Bowl era. It’s fair to say after Monday night that the rookie wideout has truly broken out. His teammate TE T.J. Hockenson had a stellar 11-catch, 86-yard game good enough to land him as the PPR TE4 on the week. Next up on the agenda for this pair of star pass-catchers is a divisional showdown vs. the Packers in Week 8.

TE T.J. Hockenson led the Vikings in targets (8), receptions (6), and receiving yards (50) in Sunday's win over the Bears. That last number points to how limited the Minnesota offense was for the game, throwing for just 181 yards and running for only 46 more. It did, at least, mark Hockenson's fourth game of 6+ receptions this season and fifth with at least 8 targets. He gets a tough matchup with the 49ers in Week 7 but remains a weekly fantasy starter.

The Vikings will be placing WR Justin Jefferson on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. That means he'll miss at least the next four games. Jefferson's absence will obviously leave a bunch of targets for his Vikings teammates. Jefferson drew 47 through the first four games, 30% of QB Kirk Cousins' total attempts over that span. That makes rookie WR Jordan Addison a weekly starting candidate over the next month. He drew a season-high 9 targets in the K.C. game, reaching 6 receptions for the second time in three weeks. It also makes WR K.J. Osborn worth picking up in many leagues. But there's also a chance Jefferson's absence shifts the offensive approach. Minnesota leads the league in pass attempts through five weeks, sits tied for the lead in pass rate, and ranks third in pass rate over expected. Losing Jefferson figures to hurt the offense overall and could push a little more work to the running game. We're certainly not upgrading RB Alexander Mattison for this, but we'll be watching the offense's reaction over the next couple of weeks. Cousins clearly loses upside with the absence of arguably the league's best WR. Fortunately for him -- and fantasy managers -- the Vikings visit a bad Bears defense in the first game without Jefferson. That will help everyone's fantasy outlooks. An ominous Monday night date with the 49ers waits on the other side of that, however.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Monday afternoon that the team is still waiting on the results from the MRI on WR Justin Jefferson's hamstring. "We're going to do what's best for Justin and make sure we give him the treatment and plan that is a big picture positive for him," O'Connell said. It sure sounds like the Vikings are bracing for Jefferson to miss time. We'll update his status as soon as we know more. Jefferson's absence would leave behind lots of opportunity for WR Jordan Addison, WR K.J. Osborn, and TE T.J. Hockenson.