Steelers Now
The Minnesota Vikings will be without one of the key starters on offense when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ chances of getting a win against the Minnesota Vikings in their Week 4 matchup in Dublin, Ireland just got a little bit better.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed starting left guard Donovan Jackson will miss the game after having wrist surgery on Monday. He had suffered the injury in Week 2 but played with it in Week 3, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Vikings rookie LG Donovan Jackson had surgery on his wrist today, per Kevin O'Connell. Suffered the injury in Week 2 but played with it in Week 3. Expected back on the field after the Week 7 bye. Was on the injury report last week and was limited in two practices.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 22, 2025
It’s a tough blow for the Vikings after they selected Jackson with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he has shown promise through the first three games of his career, allowing just one sack and one penalty in 159 offensive snaps played, per Pro Football Focus.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh and unfortunately for Minnesota, it will now likely be without him until after the team’s Week 7 bye.
Backup guard Blake Brendel seems to be the next man up, barring another outside addition to the group. Brendel, 33, started all 17 games for the Vikings last season, so they are likely comfortable with him taking over in the meantime.
However, Minnesota drafted Jackson to upgrade at the position for a reason, and it won’t be an easy task for Brendel right out of the gate.
The situation certainly sets up a potentially big day for Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who is coming off yet another impressive performance at 36, during which he recorded six tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass defensed against the New England Patriots.
An undrafted rookie out of the 2017 NFL Draft, Brendal has 22 career starts over his NFL career. The Vikings are hoping it will be enough to help overcome the Steelers talented defensive line on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Vikings Lose Key Starter Ahead of Week 4 Matchup vs. Steelers
