Vikings place Dalvin Tomlinson on COVID-19 list

Yep, we’re back to doing this again

It’s time for the Minnesota Vikings to flip their “days without placing anyone on the COVID-19 list” tracker back to zero.

On Tuesday, the Vikings placed defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson on the COVID-19 list in a move that could have significant implications for this weekend’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers and possibly beyond.

Tomlinson is, reportedly, unvaccinated, so his status is going to depend on whether or not he’s being tracked as a close contact or whether he has actually tested positive for the virus. If he’s just on the list for contact tracing purposes, he can return to the team after receiving a couple of negative tests. If he’s actually tested positive for COVID, however, he will have to isolate from the team for ten days, meaning that he would definitely be out for Sunday’s game and could potentially miss the next game against Detroit as well.

If Tomlinson is unable to go on Sunday afternoon against the 49ers, the Vikings will be looking at a lot of Sheldon Richardson, Armon Watts, and James Lynch at the defensive tackle spots. Michael Pierce will remain out for this game as he is still on injured reserve.

We’ll be monitoring the status of Dalvin Tomlinson over the next couple of days here, but it seems like he’s going to miss a game on Sunday against a team that places a great deal of emphasis on running the football. . .definitely not the most ideal of situations for the purple.

On a brighter note, the team has taken offensive lineman Dakota Dozier off of the COVID-19 list. Dozier was hospitalized recently with symptoms relating to COVID-19 after the team placed him on the reserve list, but he is back and ready to be a part of the practice squad once again.

The team has also released center Spencer Pulley from the practice squad, as well as waived practice squad fullback Garrett Groshek. The latter could be an indicator that Jake Bargas is getting ready to come off of the COVID list here as well.

After all of these moves, the only players remaining on the COVID list for Minnesota are Tomlinson and safety Josh Metellus.