A Minnesota native who signed a five-year deal worth $25 million with the Vikings this offseason, tight end John Carlson reportedly sprained his MCL in training camp and will have an MRI on his knee according to 1500ESPN.com's Tom Pelissero:

Pelissero notes that he doesn't think Carlson suffered a torn ligament in his knee, but it's clear this is a terrible sign for a Minnesota offense that is already dealing with the health of its marquee weapon in Adrian Peterson. Carlson came to the Vikings with a bit of an injury history to begin with from both his time with the Seattle Seahawks and in college at Notre Dame, and MCL injuries are clearly nothing to sneeze at.

A 6-foot-5 receiver in a tight end's body, Carlson was expected to be utilized alongside fellow tight end Kyle Rudolph in a 1-2 punch similar to what the New England Patriots employ this season with Christian Ponder running the show. Hopefully for both Carlson and the Vikings the damage will be as minimal as possible and he'll be able to rejoin the roster soon. If he is expected to miss significant time though, Rudolph could finally have a chance to emerge as one of the league's top pass-catching options at the position.

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