After a rookie season that saw Minnesota Vikings cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. play just over 100 snaps, having him take a big step in 2023 was the hope. A torn meniscus ended his rookie season and injuries are continuing to make an impact on his career.
During Tuesday afternoon’s practice, Booth got injured and walked off with a trainer. The injury itself was undisclosed and head coach Kevin O’Connell had this to say about it when speaking about his availability for Thursday’s night practice.
“I want to make sure he’s seen the folks he needs to see.”
A rather ominous quote right? That’s not a good sign for a player with a massive injury history. He tore his patella tendon in high school and played his entire college career with a sports hernia injury. That injury was a major factor in him falling down to 42nd overall.
Are we in a position where we need to worry about Booth’s future long-term? Some have started to compare his situation to former Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes.
Booth is the next Mike Hughes. Never healthy and don’t live up to draft hype
— ken hanson (@kgs6788) June 23, 2023
What if Booth is another Mike Hughes. Only difference is Hughes didn’t have a red siren flashing that said pick at your own risk. Ingram was a major reach according to analysts and was worst rated Guard in football. His top 3 picks are flops so far
— PurplePeopleEater (@PurpleKoolaid70) February 3, 2023
It’s easy to see why. Hughes showed great promise before tearing his ACL against the Arizona Cardinals in his rookie season. After that, he was never the same and the Vikings ended up trading him for peanuts to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Vikings have spent numerous resources at the position over the last two offseasons with Mekhi Blackmon in round three and Akayleb Evans and Jay Ward in round four.
Booth could be going down a similar path to Hughes, especially with him sitting as the presumed CB5 in the widespread cornerback competition. The one thing we don’t know about Booth is where he was slated once the pads came on. He got injured right before team drills began on Tuesday and with Blackmon being elevated to nickel only once the pads came on, something similar could have happened with Booth.
Continuing to suffer nagging injuries won’t help Booth’s perception among both analysts and fans, especially with so many unsure about general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s ability to scout and select players.
Should we be concerned with Booth on a long-term basis? It’s a tad too soon for that. The talent is still there for Booth to be successful, but starting out his career with numerous injuries doesn’t lead to a lot of faith in him to develop into a long-term answer.
The Vikings should be fine at cornerback for now, which, even though it’s annoying and frustrating to be patient, we need to be just that and let this coaching and medical staff do their thing.
