O'Connell gives Shaq Griffin injury update, says Vikings probably 'need to add' at CB

Griffin is going to miss some practice time, but it doesn't sound like anything too serious.

Vikings CB Shaq Griffin and WR Justin Jefferson. / Images Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Vikings starting cornerback Shaq Griffin is dealing with a "soft tissue" injury to his left leg, head coach Kevin O'Connell said on Saturday. The injury occurred during Thursday's practice, one day after CB Mekhi Blackmon suffered a torn ACL in the first session of training camp.

"He's dealing with a left leg, soft tissue," O'Connell said. "We're monitoring him and making sure, whether he's day to day or it might be a week or so, this early in camp. Kinda happened on a ball down the field, straining to compete. We'll get him back, get him with Tyler (Williams) and the (medical) group, and hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later."

That's two cornerbacks down in two practices for the Vikings, who also tragically lost rookie CB Khyree Jackson in a car accident earlier this month. It doesn't sound like Griffin's injury is anything serious, but soft tissue ailments can be tricky, so Minnesota figures to exercise caution with this situation.

With Griffin set to miss at least a few practices, there will be more work for players like Akayleb Evans, Duke Shelley, and Andrew Booth Jr. with the first-team defense. Byron Murphy Jr. is the lone projected starter at that position who is currently healthy.

"I'm looking for those guys just to continuously show some improvement and comfort, use some of the experience that those guys have gotten in some pretty big-time moments over the last couple of years," O'Connell said of players like Evans and Booth. "Just have confidence to show up every day with a plan to focus on some things to get better, and then when we get out on the practice field, let it loose. ... Go try to make a play."

With Blackmon out for the year, the Vikings seemingly needed to add another starting-caliber cornerback even before Griffin got banged up as well. There's just not much in the way of proven depth behind Murphy and Griffin, considering Evans' inconsistency over the past couple years and how little guys like Shelley and Booth played last season. O'Connell said the Vikings will need to at least add a corner to have enough bodies for camp, but hinted at the possibility of a more notable signing.

"Just knowing the type of camp I want to have, I do think we're probably going to need to add at that position, just sheerly to make sure we've got enough of a head count in that room to handle the rep load," O'Connell said. "But at the same time, there could be some impact players out there that might be interested in joining our team. That's what Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) and his staff are working through right now."

Griffin, 29, signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Vikings in March. He has started 83 games (playoffs included) with four teams over seven seasons, making the Pro Bowl with the Seahawks in 2019. He has seven career interceptions and 64 total passes defended.

Related: 8 free agent cornerbacks Vikings could target after Mekhi Blackmon's injury