Vikings coach Leslie Frazier confirmed John Carlson suffered a concussion in Sunday's Week 14 loss to Baltimore. Kyle Rudolph's recovery from a fractured foot has progressed more slowly than hoped, so the Vikings are paper thin at tight end. Carlson had two catches for 19 yards before departing Sunday. His Week 15 status is up in the air.

John Carlson caught two passes for 19 yards before departing with a potential concussion in Minnesota's Week 14 loss to the Ravens. Coach Leslie Frazier declined to update Carlson's status after the game. It's ominous news for a player with a long history of concussions. Carlson's status will be updated no later than Monday.

John Carlson caught four balls for 61 yards in the Vikings' Week 13 win over the Bears. Carlson is the safety valve in Minnesota's passing attack, at least for the time being. Kyle Rudolph (foot) is tentatively expected to resume practicing next week. If Rudolph plays against Baltimore, Carlson would have zero fantasy value.

John Carlson caught three passes for 36 yards in Week 12 versus Green Bay. Carlson was targeted five times, as the Vikings worked in all three of their tight ends. Chase Ford and Rhett Ellison combined for 46 yards on three grabs. Carlson is the guy to own in this committee approach, but he's nothing more than a TE2 in Kyle Rudolph's (foot) absence. The Bears are up next.

Vikings TE John Carlson caught five balls for 69 yards in Minnesota's Week 11 loss to Seattle. He saw seven targets, three of which came via Matt Cassel in garbage time. Carlson's big play, complete from Cassel, was a 30-yard gain down the left seam in the fourth quarter. In the absence of Kyle Rudolph (foot), Carlson has now strung together back-to-back productive efforts entering a Week 12 date with a Green Bay defense allowing the 11th most fantasy points to tight ends. We'd like Carlson as a TE1 streamer if the Vikings didn't have so much quarterback uncertainty.

Starting in the absence of Kyle Rudolph, John Carlson caught seven passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota's Week 10 win over the Redskins. Carlson's seven targets were a team high, while the touchdown was his first since 2010. The score was a wide-open affair on play action. It's an effort Carlson is unlikely to repeat going forward, but makes him worth a flier as a TE2 if you're absolutely desperate for help at the position.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press believes John Carlson is on his "last" chance with the Vikings. It's telling, since this is only Carlson's second chance with the Vikings after he signed a five-year, $25 million contract in March 2012. "Every football player knows if you don't perform or are continually injured, ultimately you're not going to be playing anymore," Carlson admitted this week. Carlson has caught just 39 passes in 29 games since the end of the 2009 season. He's well off the fantasy radar behind Kyle Rudolph.

Vikings TE John Carlson admitted that his 2012 season was a "debacle." Carlson signed a five-year, $25 million last offseason. He sustained a knee injury in camp and never got going, catching just eight balls in 14 games. Now he's accepted a pay cut and is healthy. Carlson will enter camp as the clear No. 2 tight end behind Kyle Rudolph.

John Carlson has agreed to a restructured contract. The Vikings foolishly gave Carlson a five-year, $25 million a year ago even though they had Kyle Rudolph ready to go. He ended up catching eight passes in 14 games. Due to count $4 million against the cap in 2013, Carlson was a lock for a massive paycut.

The Vikings would take a $4 million cap hit to cut John Carlson before the start of the league year, but would not owe him any more guaranteed money. If Carlson is still on the roster by the first day of the league year, he will collect $1.2 million in guarantees. One of last year's worst free agent signings, Carlson was paid $7.9 million in 2012 to post an 8/43/0 stat line across 14 games. He has no role in the Vikings offense.