Vikings: CB A.J. Jefferson out with a concussion

Vikings CB A.J. Jefferson suffered a concussion during the Bears game when he was hit in the head by his own teammate.

By Joe Oberle

Dec 10, 2012 at 5:08 pm ET • 1 min read

Vikings CB A.J. Jefferson was hit by his own teammates and suffered a concussion against the Bears. (US Presswire)

Vikings CB A.J. Jefferson was hit by two of his own players in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bears. He lay motionless on the field for a short time and then left under his own power. He suffered a concussion, and on Monday, coach Leslie Frazier confirmed it.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens with him as he goes through the NFL protocol regarding concussions,” Frazier said.

Jefferson was replacing CB Chris Cook who has been out with a broken forearm. Cook is on the designated-for-return injured reserve and started practicing with the team last week. He is not eligible to return to game action until Dec. 23 against Houston. So, if Jefferson does not get through the concussion protocol for this Sunday’s game in St. Louis, the Vikings will have to do some juggling in the secondary.

“It would be Marcus [Sherels]--he’d be the next guy on the field," Frazier said. “And then of course we have Brandon Burton, as well. So between those two, they’d get the bulk of the reps. And we’d define that as the week goes on.”

Sherels’ primary duty has been as the team’s punt returner, and he has been returning kickoffs in replace of Percy Harvin. He got on the field on Sunday in the nickel defense when Jefferson went down. He will have to get up to speed quickly if Jefferson is unable to play.