Vikings LB Cameron Smith has successful open-heart surgery
Cameron Smith #59 of the Minnesota Vikings during a preseason game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on August 09, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. ((Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith is starting a 12-week recovery and will miss the 2020 season after having successful open-heart surgery on Monday.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday Smith is back in Philadelphia, and has already had conversations with Zimmer about what he can do moving forward to stay involved with the team. Smith discovered after testing positive for COVID-19, which required further testing, that he needed to have surgery to repair a bicuspid aortic valve.
“It is really a blessing that we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I found this out after I tested positive for COVID and had to have further testing done as a protocol. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but I could really feel him on this one!” Smith posted to Instagram earlier this month.
So while the world continues to battle the global health pandemic, testing positive for COVID-19 ended up being a life-saving diagnosis for Smith. He’ll miss the 2020 season, but his goal is to be back for 2021.
“They were able to repair the heart and he’s in good shape,” Zimmer said. “He’ll be in Philadelphia for a while. When he comes back, he talked about before he left trying to help out in any way possible, come to meetings, draw play cards, he’ll help with the scout team. We’re hopeful he comes back and he’s able to play football, but more importantly, it looks like he’s going to be great in health.”
Smith, 23 years old and a fifth round pick at linebacker last year out of USC, appeared in five games as a rookie for the Vikings. He played mainly on special teams and had 52 defensive snaps in five games. He made eight tackles, including four solo tackles, last year.