Vikings rookie running back Jerick McKinnon’s season is over. The team placed him on the injured reserve list Saturday because of a lower back injury, NFL.com reports.
McKinnon had already been ruled out for the Vikings’ game against the Jets on Sunday, and didn’t play last week either.
He became one of the Vikings’ go-to backs after Adrian Peterson was suspended early in the season after being charged with child abuse. McKinnon played in 11 games, started six of them, and was the team’s leader in carries, rushing yards, and average yard per carry, according to NFL.com.
According to the Star Tribune, McKinnon suffered the injury in mid-November while lifting weights at the team facility.
Jerick McKinnon to have back procedure, per league source. 8-week recovery time. Should be full go before off season workouts begin.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) December 6, 2014
Peterson’s status is still up in the air; he’s waiting to hear from an arbitrator who will decide whether Peterson’s season-ending suspension will be overturned. And with McKinnon now out, the Vikings will rotate running backs Matt Asiata, Joe Banyard and Ben Tate in the final four games of the season.
To fill McKinnon’s spot on the roster, the Vikings promoted defensive end Justin Trattou from the practice squad.
