The Vikings have yet to make it official, but tight end Irv Smith Jr. is likely to miss the entire season after undergoing knee surgery Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter reports Smith will need 4-5 months to recover from meniscus surgery.
Vikings’ TE Irv Smith underwent surgery to repair his meniscus this morning. With a 4-5 month recovery timetable, it is most likely to end his season, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2021
Losing Smith is a big blow to Minnesota’s offense, with coach Mike Zimmer saying earlier this week that without Smith, the offense may have to use more three wide receiver sets, putting pressure on second-year wideout K.J. Osborne and Dede Westbrook, who is returning from an ACL injury last season.
Softening the blow somewhat was the Vikings trading a 2022 fourth-round pick to the Jets for tight end Chris Herndon and a 2022 sixth-round pick.
It remains unclear how Smith suffered the meniscus injury as he played in Minnesota’s preseason finale against Kansas City last week and didn’t appear to suffer an injury at any point during the game.
