Adam Thielen popped up on the injury report Wednesday with a mysterious ankle injury and was listed as limited.
With the Vikings set to face the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday afternoon, Thielen’s status could be questionable heading into the weekend.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that Thielen needed stitches for a bad cut on his ankle suffered in practice Wednesday, per sources informed of the situation.
Pelissero added that the initial prognosis was encouraging for Thielen’s chances of playing Saturday against the 49ers, but they’re still gathering information and will proceed with caution.
For his part, Thielen downplayed the severity of the injury during a Thursday visit on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
“Yeah, you know how it is,” Thielen said. “I just got a little tangled up in practice but I’m going to do whatever it takes — it’s playoffs. I’ll do whatever it takes to be out there on Saturday with my teammates and try to help this team win.”
Combined with Stefon Diggs missing practice due to illness — though coach Mike Zimmer dismissed concerns Diggs wouldn’t be ready for Saturday — the Vikes’ receiving corps could be less than 100 percent heading into the Divisional Round.
Coming off a seven-catch, 129-yard performance in the wild-card round — after a rocky start to the game that included a fumble — Thielen once again proved he’s a lynchpin of the Vikings‘ offense.
When Thielen and Dalvin Cook are healthy and, on the field, Minnesota’s offense is vastly superior. The Vikings have averaged 6.1 more points per game, 51.5 more yards and almost three more big plays per game when both Cook and Thielen have played this season (including playoffs), per NFL Research.
At this stage, the hope is Thielen’s cut won’t prove bad enough to keep him out versus San Francisco.