Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert ESPN.com colleague John Clayton came up with this statistic during a conversation Monday night: The Minnesota Vikings have 17 undrafted rookies on their 80-man roster, the most among all NFL teams.
What does that figure mean? Considered one way, it is a reflection of the Vikings' diminishing depth after a run of injuries in the past few days. Monday, for example, the Vikings placed linebacker Heath Farwell and defensive end Jayme Mitchell on injured reserve and replaced them both with rookie free agents.
There wasn't much else they could do at the time. If the Vikings want more experience behind their starters, they'll have to wait until teams start jettisoning players as part of the NFL's mandatory cuts.
But in a short span, the Vikings have lost one starter (safety Madieu Williams) for at least six weeks and two backups for the season (Farwell and Mitchell). Williams' backup, rookie Tyrell Johnson, is sitting out practice this week because of a strained abdominal muscle. Second-team defensive end Brian Robison remains sidelined because of leg surgery, and nose tackle Pat Williams is being careful with his surgically-repaired elbow.
Offensively, the Vikings are limiting receiver Bernard Berrian (groin).
It's nowhere close to panic time for the Vikings, but coach Brad Childress already is testy about the topic. He told a group of beat reporters Monday that he wasn't going to talk about injuries because he "doesn't have to." Indeed, the NFL's official injury report doesn't begin until the first week of the season. Childress has often used that line to skate around injury questions, but this time it came with a tone that sounded a little like, "I can't bear to."
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Kevin Seifert
Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and daughter.