Back in the NFL's olden days of 2019, a coach could stop worrying about the availability of his players once they made it through the previous game in good health.
If this were two years ago, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer would be especially comfortable this weekend. A Thursday night win followed by a Monday night game gives 10 days of rest to a mentally tired roster that suffered no new significant injuries to any key players.
But this is a different world from two years ago. In the pandemic era, Zimmer giving his team four days off before reconvening on Tuesday no doubt comes with concerns that his players — particularly the unvaccinated ones, which includes Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook and Harrison Smith — might lapse in their adherence to the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.
But even if they don't, there are no guarantees. In fact, the more likely scenario for the Vikings and other playoff contenders is one in which more players go on the COVID-19 list and miss games over the next month. You just cross your fingers and hope it's not Cousins while you're heading to Green Bay with a playoff spot on the line in Week 17.
The Vikings already have placed 14 players on their COVID-19 list since training camp, including Cousins for three days in August. Starters Garrett Bradbury, Dalvin Tomlinson, Patrick Peterson and Smith are among those who have missed games.
"When I'm sitting in the meetings and I get a text from our [head athletic] trainer Eric Sugarman and it says so and so tested positive, it's [challenging] trying to piece everything together," Zimmer said. "I guess it's the way of the world right now. … You just figure out a way, try to figure out a way. It's just another annoying thing in your day."
The only two reliable pieces in Zimmer's embattled secondary are former All-Pros Smith and Peterson. The Vikings are 1-3 when one or both are on the COVID-19 list. In the loss to the winless Lions, it was Peterson's replacement, Cameron Dantzler, who botched the coverage on Detroit's walkoff touchdown pass.
Vikings second-year receiver K.J. Osborn doesn't know an NFL without COVID-19 protocols. He said he got the vaccine just to enjoy the extra freedom that comes with it under the league's protocols.