Vikings rookie guard Donovan Jackson undergoes wrist surgery, will miss next two games

Vikings rookie guard Donovan Jackson underwent surgery on his wrist Monday in Los Angeles and will miss the next two games, coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Jackson, the 24th overall pick out of Ohio State, suffered the injury Sept. 14 against the Falcons. He started and played 56 snaps Sunday against the Bengals while already having surgery scheduled for Monday.

“It was determined last week he could play in the football game and not do any further harm,” O’Connell said.

“All along Donovan had this feel of I’m playing, I can play,” O’Connell added, “and I’m sure he would possibly try to fight through it and worry about everything later, but sometimes you have to do what’s in the best interest of a really talented young player that we have.”

Jackson, 22, will make the trip to Dublin with the team, but O’Connell said they will hold him out through both international games against the Steelers and Browns while using the following bye week to help him heal.

“He’s off to a great start in his career,” O’Connell said. “Everything we hoped he would be and yesterday was a big-time day for so many layers for him: showing his toughness, showing his commitment and being a huge part of our ability to not only run the football, but just be effective on offense.”

The Vikings expect center Ryan Kelly and backup tackle Justin Skule to clear the concussion protocol and play Sunday vs. Pittsburgh, O’Connell said. Guard Blake Brandel, who started every game at left guard last season, will replace Jackson.

“I was actually very relieved when I got out there and saw what it was,” O’Connell said.

Brandel, a 2020 sixth-round pick, will make his 24th start for the Vikings on Sunday. He has trained at every position and is technically the No. 3 left tackle. He didn’t replace Skule against Atlanta, when second-year tackle Walter Rouse stepped in, because Brandel was the only available backup center to Michael Jurgens, who had gone in for Kelly.

“He’s the only one in our group who can play all five,” right tackle Brian O’Neill said.

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is expected to be available in Dublin after playing only 11 snaps vs. the Bengals because of a rib injury. Tight end Ben Yurosek, the undrafted rookie, might not play due to a knee injury.

O’Connell said only two players, tight end Gavin Bartholomew and running back Ty Chandler, will not join the team on the trip to Dublin and London for the next two games.

“Very sharp fundamentally,” O’Connell said. “There’s quite a few reps where the ground is the quarterback’s friend from a standpoint of keeping the foundation of your base; balance and body position in the ground so you can make quick decisions. I thought he progressed [through reads] multiple times. I thought he threw with anticipation.”

McCarthy is out of the walking boot now. O’Connell said Monday that the question of whether McCarthy will retain the starting job once he’s healthy “doesn’t require an answer.”

“First and foremost, he’s got to get healthy,” O’Connell said. “I don’t think it’s one of those things where ... he’s healthy the night before a game we’re going to throw him out there.”

O’Connell noted that McCarthy missed practice the week before the Falcons loss, adding, “When you’re in the phasing of building up 10,000 reps and 10,000 hours that it takes to play at a really high level, which we know J.J. McCarthy is going to do, you can’t cut corners on that.”

Receiver Jordan Addison will return to the field this week from a three-game suspension stemming from a 2024 drunken driving arrest. The 2023 first-round pick was a consistent standout on the practice fields during training camp. An adjustment to the NFL’s suspension rules this season allowed him to return to the team facility after one week, but he could not practice or play until this week.