Vikings place DB Patrick Peterson on IR with hamstring injury
Patrick Peterson #7 of the Minnesota Vikings stands on the sideline in the fourth quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 3, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Vikings are on their bye week after a 34-28 win in overtime at the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but they’ll be without one of their top defensive players for at least the next three games.
The Vikings announced Monday they’ve placed Patrick Peterson on injured reserve. Peterson was injured late in the fourth quarter as the Panthers drove 96 yards to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. He was covering DJ Moore on a deep pass down the sideline that fell incomplete, and came up grabbing his right hamstring.
He left the field and went to the locker room, and the team announced at the time he was dealing with cramps. Mike Zimmer said Monday Peterson has a hamstring injury.
Peterson’s move to IR means he’ll have to miss at least the next three games, against the Cowboys, Ravens and Chargers. The earliest he can return is Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers.
Peterson played 62 defensive snaps on Sunday, finishing with three tackles and one tackle for a loss.
With Peterson out, it’ll mean bigger roles for Cameron Dantzler and Bashaud Breeland, who had his best game of the season Sunday and intercepted Sam Darnold’s first pass of the game.
"I feel fine. Patrick has played really well, we’ll miss him for sure. Dantzler has done decent and so has Breeland," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.
Zimmer said he does not believe Peterson's injury is season-ending.