Vikings tight end Josh Oliver dealing with sprained ankle; Kevin O’Connell ‘really happy’ with Dalton Risner

Vikings tight end Josh Oliver, who left Nissan Stadium in a walking boot after Sunday’s 23-13 win against the Titans, is dealing with a left ankle sprain that leaves his status uncertain for this week’s game at the Chicago Bears, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.

“Still trying to figure out the severity,” O’Connell said, “and let him work through the early part of the week here treatment-wise and see what his availability could be for Sunday.”

Oliver’s last snap on Sunday came in the fourth quarter, when fullback C.J. Ham fell forward while blocking a Titans defender and into Oliver’s back legs during a run play. Oliver, in the second season of a three-year deal, has earned a prominent role for this Vikings offense. He has started every game and set a pace, playing about 60% of the snaps, that would be a career high for a full season.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson would presumably step into a larger role in Oliver’s absence. Hockenson has been limited so far, playing less than 50% of all three games since returning from a 10-month absence and major knee surgery. He’s been on the field for more passing downs, while Oliver, the group’s best run blocker, has been given more early-down work. O’Connell said there’s “no set number” of snaps for Hockenson.

“When you have a player like Josh playing at that level, it really allows T.J. to have the maximum impact on the game with how we want to play,” O’Connell said. “Running the football a little bit more than maybe we have [before] during T.J.’s time here. But I think there’s really no set number. It’s kind of how the game goes. T.J. can do anything we ask him to do.”

“He’s just continuing to kind of make up for some time lost of actual game action,” O’Connell added. “He’s getting better and better.”

Hockenson has been targeted in key situations with seven of his 13 receptions on third downs. Oliver, who already has a career-high 216 receiving yards and three touchdowns, has also been an effective target — even flashing a one-handed grab earlier this month in Jacksonville.

“I know that everybody has made note of some of the passing game plays,” O’Connell said of Oliver, but the coach also highlighted “how he plays, how he protects, his physicality in the run game.”

O’Connell said he’s “really happy” with the way right guard Dalton Risner played in his season debut. Coaches tapped Risner to replace guard Ed Ingram, a third-year starter whose struggles were deemed unacceptable during the 12-7 win in Jacksonville.

“Did some good things … [against] a really good front,” O’Connell said of Risner, who started 11 games last year at left guard. “He battled. I thought he showed some of that veteran moxie to kind of win some downs that were some hard downs. And then there are some things that I think he’ll continue, just with the speed and physicality of it, to find his groove. So, I was really happy with the way Dalton stepped in, and just kind of with the poise of the veteran we’re looking for.”

At 35 years old, safety Harrison Smith leads the Vikings defense playing 619 snaps through 10 games. He has played every snap in seven straight games. Just three defenders, the Commanders’ Bobby Wagner, the Buccaneers’ Lavonte David and former NFL cornerback Patrick Peterson, have played more snaps than Smith’s 12,009 since he entered the league in 2012, according to Pro Football Reference.

Smith’s fourth-quarter interception in Tennessee came during his 59th and final snap on the field.

“I really should have had about two [interceptions],” Smith said. “It was good to close the game out with one, but still mad at myself for not getting another.”