It looks like the Minnesota Vikings could be getting another significant part of their offense back from the injured reserve list.
On Wednesday, the Vikings opened the window for center Ryan Kelly. Kelly, who the Vikings signed to a two-year contract this offseason to replace the departed Garrett Bradbury, has been limited to just three games this season due to concussion issues.
Kelly, who had a history of concussion issues during his time with the Indianapolis Colts, has suffered two concussions so far this season. The first game in the Vikings’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, which caused him to miss a game the following week. He returned for the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin in Week 4, only to suffer a concussion in that game as well. After the second concussion, the team placed him on injured reserve, and he has missed the last five games.
Kevin O’Connell said in his press conference on Wednesday that when Kelly returns, he will be wearing a combination of a different style of helmet and a “guardian cap,” which is one of those things that makes players look like The Great Gazoo from The Flintstones. While it’s understandable that Kelly wants to come back, given his concussion issues he might be entering legitimately scary territory.
From a football perspective, if Kelly does return, it could give the Vikings an opportunity to have the five starting offensive linemen they envisioned having finally on the field at the same time. So far this year, Kelly, Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill have played a combined zero snaps, including the preseason when Darrisaw was still out of action. The Vikings have been shuffling offensive linemen around all over the place so far this season, so we’ll see what happens when Kelly makes his return.
In opening his practice window, the Vikings now have 21 days to decide whether or not to put Kelly back on the active roster. If, for some reason, they determine that he is not ready to return after those 21 days, he would go back on injured reserve and his season would be over.
What do you make of the potential return of Ryan Kelly, folks?
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