The Minnesota Vikings will already be without one of their big guns defense this Sunday afternoon when they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as defensive tackle Kevin Williams will be serving the second half of his two-game suspension for the StarCaps mess. Now, it appears as though they'll be missing another key component of the unit as well.
Middle linebacker E.J. Henderson did not practice for the Vikings on Thursday or Friday, and is very likely to miss the home opener against the Buccaneers. Henderson woke up on Thursday with swelling in his one of his knees, and had a X-ray that showed no structural damage to the leg. The plan was to re-evaluate him during Friday's practice, but he was unable to take the field.
If E.J. Henderson is unable to go on Sunday, it's possible that his younger brother, Erin, would wind up stepping into the middle linebacker spot. The Vikings could also turn to the recently acquired Xavier Adibi, who was one of the final cuts of the Houston Texans that the Vikings signed prior to the season opener.