Vikings’ Thielen injures ankle before 49ers playoff game
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen has an ankle injury that limited him Wednesday in practice.
Thielen was on the field with the team for the start of the workout and added to the injury report afterward, a sign that he was hurt during practice. The two-time Pro Bowl pick was sidelined for close to half of the regular season because of a hamstring injury, before his seven-catch, 129-yard performance at New Orleans in the playoff game last week.
The Vikings play Saturday at San Francisco.
Thielen was scheduled to speak with the media Wednesday, but his session was postponed.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs missed practice for the second straight day because of an illness, but coach Mike Zimmer said the 26-year-old will “be fine.”
Nickel cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who was sidelined against the Saints, remains out with a knee injury. Alexander needs surgery, according to ESPN. BRADY HAS ‘MORE TO PROVE’ >> Whether Tom Brady will return as quarterback of the New England Patriots next season is still an open question. But the 42-yearold on Wednesday gave another indication that he isn’t done playing football.
In an Instagram post to fans, Brady said “I still have more to prove” following a season that ended with the Patriots failing to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015.
“In both life and football, failure is inevitable,” he wrote. “You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again.”
New England’s season ended with a 20-13 loss in the wild-card round to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night. A six-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Most Valuable Player of the NFL title game and three-time winner of the league MVP, Brady could become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when his contract ends in March. GIANTS, JUDGE FINALIZE COACHING DEAL >> New England Patriots special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge has been hired as the New York Giants head coach.
The Giants and representatives for Judge reached a contract agreement less than 24 hours after the 38-year-old was offered the job and asked to turn around a franchise that has made the playoffs once since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012.
Judge succeeds Pat Shurmur, who was fired a week
ago Monday after winning nine games in two seasons.
The decision was surprising because Judge was not considered a favorite for the job. He was impressive in his interview on Monday.
However, it also seems the Giants settled on Judge.
Two men considered to be front-runners for top job opted to coach other teams.
Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl and went to the playoffs nine times in 12-plus seasons, accepted the Dallas Cowboys’ job. He interviewed with the Giants last week.
Baylor coach Matt Rhule, a former Giants assistant, was hired by the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday, the day he was supposed to interview with New York. The planned meeting never happened.
FIVE HEISMAN WINNERS TO
SUIT UP FOR RAVENS-TITANS MATCHUP >> The top prize for individual excellence in college football is the Heisman Trophy. For the first time in the Super Bowl era, five winners of that prestigious keepsake are expected to suit up in the same game, each in pursuit of the NFL’s most coveted team award — the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Baltimore will bring three Heisman winners (Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, Robert Griffin III) into Saturday night’s playoff game against Tennessee, which has a pair of players (Marcus Mariota, Derrick Henry) who accepted the trophy presented annually to the most outstanding performer in college football.
“Five? I didn’t even think about that,” said Jackson, who won the 2016 Heisman with Louisville. “It’s going to be incredible.”
Jackson would gladly trade his statue for the opportunity to hoist the trophy in Miami on Feb. 2.
“That’s the trophy I want,” Jackson said. “That’s the best trophy you can get playing football. That’s what I want, that’s what the team wants, that’s what we’re going to get.”