Inside The Vikings

Vikings CBs Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans Leave Thursday's Practice

Blackmon and Evans are set to be starters for the Vikings this season if healthy.

Will Ragatz

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Vikings rookie cornerback Mekhi Blackmon left Thursday's joint practice with the Titans with an apparent upper-body injury. Blackmon appeared to be favoring his shoulder as he walked off the field with a trainer and headed into the team's medical tent.

It would be a big blow for the Vikings if Blackmon's injury is serious. The rookie out of USC has been one of their better cornerbacks in training camp, establishing himself as a starter in nickel packages along with Byron Murphy Jr. and Akayleb Evans. Blackmon is undersized — much like fellow rookie Jordan Addison — but he makes up for it with excellent technique and athleticism. The 24-year-old was drafted in the third round this year and is in line to be a Week 1 starter if he's healthy.

Veteran Joejuan Williams replaced Blackmon with the first-team defense. The injury happened early in practice.

The Vikings play the Titans in a preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday night, and it seems likely that Blackmon won't play in that game. We may not know more about his status until early next week.

Update: Blackmon "appears to have dodged a major injury," according to Tom Pelissero. "Evaluations ongoing, but there’s optimism Blackmon will be able to return soon."

Scary moment for Evans

Evans, another starting cornerback for the Vikings, had a scary moment near the end of Tuesday's practice. During a situational drill, he couldn't come down with an interception against Malik Willis and then took an inadvertent hit from teammate Josh Metellus, who was also going for the ball. Evans stayed down for a couple seconds before being helped to his feet. He wanted to stay in, but head coach Kevin O'Connell personally went into the huddle to pull Evans off the field.

The reason this is notable is that Evans had three concussions during his rookie season in 2022. He's wearing a different helmet this year and has focused on improving his tackling technique to avoid concussions, but that history makes any play like this one potentially significant. Evans never fully left with a trainer and was signing autographs like normal after practice, so hopefully there's nothing to be concerned about.

Update: Evans also appears to be OK.

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