LITTLE ROCK — Minnesota Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier spoke optimistically about Greg Childs’ injured knees late Saturday night.
“You hate to see any player go down for any injury,” Frazier said. “And Greg has struggled with injuries, as we all know, as he was coming out of college. Hopefully things will work out and it’s nothing serious.”
Frazier and the Vikings found out Sunday it was.
Childs’ first preseason camp with the Vikings came to a halt Saturday night when the rookie wide receiver went up for a pass in the end zone at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato, Minn., and stumbled near the end of a team scrimmage.
The Vikings announced Sunday that the former Arkansas star who was taken in the fourth round by the Vikings in April’s NFL Draft, tore the patellar tendon in both knees.
Childs will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be lost for the season.
“It’s unfortunate,” Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder told the St. Paul Pioneer-Presson Saturday night, before knowing the extent of the injury.
Childs, from Warren, was considered a candidate to make up for the loss of Jerome Simpson, whom the Vikings signed as a free agent in the off season but who will miss the first three games while serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy.
The injury appears to be similar, if not worse, than the one Childs suffered during Arkansas’ October 2010 victory over Vanderbilt. Childs tore the patellar tendon in his right knee, and missed the Razorbacks’ final five games of the season after having surgery.
Childs finished his Arkansas career with 133 receptions for 2,066 yards and 15 touchdowns, but only 21 of those receptions came last season, and it was thought that his draft stock dropped because of his injury.
Childs appeared to have improved in recent workouts after having dropped passes in the first few with the Vikings. In a scrimmage last Thursday, the Pioneer-Press reported that he ripped a pass thrown by quarterback Joe Webb from the hands of a defensive back.
“Anything that they need me to do, I’m going to do it full speed,” he told the newspaper.
He also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Webb that same day.
“I’ve seen that since our school days,” receiver Jarius Wright told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Greg making catches like that? There’s nothing new for me to see.”
Childs’ injury could open up more opportunities for Wright, who played with Childs in high school and at Arkansas before also being drafted in the fourth round by the Vikings.
Sports, Pages 15 on 08/06/2012