MINNEAPOLIS -- The reaction in the locker room late Monday night summed up what an MRI would later reveal.
Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin walked through the locker room on crutches as several teammates had a look of disappointment while offering him words of encouragement. It appeared obvious that Griffin had suffered another serious knee injury in a 29-20 loss to the New York Jets.
An MRI on Tuesday morning showed that Griffin suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
The injury comes 8 months after Griffin suffered a torn ACL in his left knee whole covering a kickoff in the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints.
Griffin injured his right knee while making a tackle on a short pass in the fourth quarter. Coach Brad Childress said he talked to Griffin after the team returned home early Tuesday morning and Griffin was obviously dejected by the prospect of a season-ending injury and another long rehab.
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"I think he's in a little bit of fog," Childress said. "I think he's probably just taking it all in right now. . . . It's probably kind of a 'Why me?' thing right now."
Griffin worked extremely hard in his rehab this offseason, regularly spending extra time after practice doing individual drills and conditioning. Recovery from ACL surgery typically takes six to nine months, and Griffin was able to return for the Detroit game before the bye. He surprised the coaching staff by playing the entire game.
Griffin's injury leaves the Vikings secondary in flux because rookie Chris Cook is sidelined after suffering a meniscus tear in his left knee against Detroit. Cook also missed the first two games after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during the preseason. Cook had arthroscopic surgery to repair both knees, but Cook said the second one is not as serious.
Childress said Cook did some individual work on Tuesday morning and the team hopes he can put himself in position to possibly play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
"Certainly he is way more comfortable right now than he was at this point from his procedure on the other side," Childress said. "There's a chance he makes it to this weekend. We talked about that this morning . . . he needs to push with the idea that he's going to make it to the weekend and then he and we will decide whether he makes it to the weekend."
In the meantime, Childress said the team is "looking at a whole bunch of roster moves right now" as it prepares to face a Dallas team that ranks No. 3 in the league in passing offense. Internally, Asher Allen and veteran Lito Sheppard are options but both have had problems. The Jets repeatedly went at Allen after Griffin left the game.
"We've got some spots we've got to address and we're game-planning for Dallas here," Childress said. "We're trying to set roster, all those kind of parts."
