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Tuesday PM Update: Smith is expected to be sidelined 8-10 weeks due to his ankle sprain and will be heading to IR. This makes sense with Minnesota's trade for tight end TJ Hockenson on Tuesday.
The #Vikings are placing TE Irv Smith on Injured Reserve, as his ankle injury knocks him out indefinitely. TJ Hockenson steps right in. https://t.co/YX4vKTJCsV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 1, 2022
The Minnesota Vikings won yet another game to take a commanding lead in the NFC North with their 6-1 record, but it does look like they’ll be without their starting tight end Irv Smith Jr. for a little while. He reportedly is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That injury is usually a 4-week absence, but your mileage may vary. Fowler calls it 3-4 weeks.
Smith hasn’t lived up to fantasy football expectations, with just 22 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns. At this point, it doesn’t look like a breakout is coming anytime soon unfortunately.
Fantasy football implications for Week 9
Johnny Mundt is Smith’s backup, and he even scored a touchdown in Week 8, but it was his only catch and it was a 1-yarder. He’ll have some touchdown or bust appeal in deep 2TE leagues, but for us normies, he’s not worth adding, even if Adam Thielen were to miss a game or two. .