Andrew

Booth

Someone had to go to make room for Jonathan Mingo. Booth has mostly been a healthy scratch this year and hadn’t played since Dallas’ Week 6 depantsing against the Lions. He had five solo tackles in 38 defensive snaps over three Cowboys games this year.

Bland was sensational for the Cowboys and fantasy managers who play in IDP leagues with nine interceptions in 2023; five of those returned for touchdowns. The 6-foot, 197-pound corner will be out through at least September and most of October. Andrew Booth Jr. and Caelon Carson will likely be the internal options to replace Bland while he recovers.

Booth’s disappointing 2022 rookie season culminated in a season-ending knee injury but he made significant improvements in 2023, tallying 99 coverage snaps. Booth reduced his catch rate allowed by 31.3 percent (50.0 percent), his yards allowed per coverage snap by 2.19 (0.30) and recorded a perfect 0.0 percent explosive pass plays allowed rate (15-plus yards). He makes for an intriguing depth piece in the Cowboys’ secondary.

Wright (third round) and Booth (second round) are former, recent Day 2 draft picks. The move provides both players with a fresh start following volatile early-career showings. The strength of Wright’s play has largely been in run defense but he did produce a career-best 0.69 yards allowed per coverage snap last season.

Booth’s rookie season was one to forget, as he dealt with multiple injuries and played behind lower-drafted rookie corner Akaylab Evans. Booth had a 41.7 PFF coverage grade in 61 coverage snaps against the Bills and Cowboys. Those aren’t exactly easy offenses to play against as a rookie getting a first taste of NFL action, but it wasn’t an inspiring performance. He’ll likely be placed on IR in the near future, and the Vikings will hope for a rebound in year two.

Booth’s timeline won’t be known until after the procedure, as the decision on the exact procedure being performed will reportedly be decided during surgery. It’s possible that Booth will miss the rest of the season, but his timeline will be updated following surgery.

He remains out with a knee injury after Dallas absolutely torched him on Sunday. He was already behind Akaylab Evans (concussion), who may play on Thanksgiving. Two straight days of DNPs put Booth likely out for that game, with Kris Boyd and Duke Shelley candidates to pick up snaps if Evans can’t get out of protocol.

Booth appeared on two special teams snaps in Week 1 before suffering a quad injury. He has been out of action ever since. The second-round rookie will look to make his return in Week 5 against the Bears.

It was a non-contact injury that looked scarier than it was. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell downplayed the injury when asked about it after the game, saying “It sounds like it’s a positive thing, from the standpoint of an aggravation of an injury that we know about already.” Booth could potentially miss the final preseason game, but this doesn’t sound like something that will linger into the regular season.

The Vikings held Booth out of the offseason program while recovering from March surgery. The missed time means he’ll likely be limited if he’s cleared later this month. Booth will open camp behind Cam Dantzler for the starting role opposite Patrick Peterson.