Vikings receivers Adam Thielen will play on Sunday against the Eagles. But he will be feeling the effects of a blow he took last week against the Saints.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Thielen suffered “slight” back fractures last week, presumably after taking a hit from Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in the third quarter of the divisional-round game. Thielen is at no risk for structural damage, which strongly implies that the fractures were to the transverse process bones -- the small spines that poke out from a vertebrate.
Thielen officially is listed as questionable. He didn’t practice on Wednesday, and he was limited on Thursday and Friday.
It sounds as if it will be an issue of pain tolerance for Thielen. Given everything he has overcome to get to within one game of the Super Bowl, there’s no way a little pain will slow him down.