Minnesota Vikings edge rusher D.J. Wonnum exited Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions with an injury that’s proven to be devasting to his team’s season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, December 25, that Wonnum suffered a torn quad and is likely out for the remainder of the season.
“Vikings OLB DJ Wonnum, in the midst of a career year with 62 tackles and 8 sacks, suffered a partially torn quad, source said, an indication he’s played his last down this season,” Rapoport posted on X (formerly Twitter).
A 2020 fourth-round pick, Wonnum claimed a starting spot this season with Marcus Davenport on injured reserve and posted career highs in sacks (8.0), tackles (62), tackles for loss (7) and quarterback hits (15).
An impending free agent, Wonnum may have played his last snap for in purple and gold as one of the few young players who have excelled despite three defensive scheme changes in four years.
Over The Cap valued Wonnum’s contributions this season to be worth a $12.14 million a year deal — a price tag the Vikings will likely need to come close to matching to sign him this offseason.
“You can see what D.J. means to our team. He’s one of those guys that probably hasn’t got enough credit for the year he’s had,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said in a postgame news conference.
Vikings Devastated by Injuries in Loss to Lions
The Vikings had four players go down with injuries on Sunday: wide receiver Jordan Addison (ankle), tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee), cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder) and Wonnum.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Monday, December 25, that Hockenson is likely out for the season and Addison is week-to-week as well.
According to ESPN’s Power Index, the Vikings have a 19.7% chance at makiof the postseason after the loss.
Minnesota’s locker room has been ravaged by injury this season, but O’Connell maintained that the Vikings will persevere.
“You know, one thing about our guys is we got the right kind of guys. It’s as close-knit of a group I’ve been around. That is what makes losses like these hurt. And when a couple of their brothers go down, three, four guys go down with what may be significant injuries, it takes a lot to continue to persevere and push through,” O’Connell said. “I thought the guys tried to do that throughout the football game.”
Analytics Prove Vikings are the Unluckiest NFL Team for 2023 Season
If you needed any more convincing that the Vikings have pushed through the worst luck of any team this season, well here you are.
NFL Football Operations put together a “luck metric” based on dropped interceptions, dropped passes, field goal success and fumble recoveries, and found the Vikings have had the worst luck by a landslide this season through 15 weeks.
Minnesota has a -188.4% mark in the luck metric, with the next closest team being the Buffalo Bills with a -101.2% mark.
Win Probability via Luck Dashboard through week 15.
Biggest play of week 15 is biggest play of season:
– CHI dropped pass in end zone with 0 seconds left that would have won game (+92.8% for CLE) pic.twitter.com/03oa6zZscy— Tom Bliss (@DataWithBliss) December 19, 2023
Injuries are not accounted for in the metric, but if they were, it would only add insult to injury to the Vikings’ season.
