Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings: Inactives List, Injury Report
Arif Hasan
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Long injury report (along with inactives list) for the Vikings.
| NAME | POSITION | INJURY | WED. | THU. | FRI. | STATUS | GAMEDAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barr, Anthony | LB | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | Injured Reserve | N/A |
| Watts, Brandon | LB | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out | Inactive |
| Yankey, David | G | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Dixon, Ahmad | S | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Josey, Henry | RB | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Prater, Shaun | CB | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Bykowski, Carter | T | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Greenway, Chad | LB | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | Questionable | Inactive |
| Wright, Jarius | WR | Low Back | DNP | DNP | LP | Questionable | Active |
| Rudolph, Kyle | TE | Ankle | DNP | DNP | LP | Questionable | Active |
| Johnson, Charlie | G | Ankle | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Jennings, Greg | WR | Hamstring | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Exum, Antone | S | Knee | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Harris, Mike | T | Foot | LP | DNP | LP | Probable | Active |
| Ford, Chase | TE | Foot | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Blanton, Robert | S | Ankle | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Sendejo, Andrew | S | T | FP | FP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Floyd, Sharrif | DT | Knee | FP | FP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Asiata, Matt | RB | Foot | FP | FP | FP | Probable | Active |
The Vikings are their starting linebacker corps and this will be quite the test against Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett, who have a combined 2629 yards and 12 touchdowns—over 30 percent of the combined touchdowns and 53 percent of the combined offensive yards the Bears have put together. The rest of the inactives are either marginal players (Shaun Prater), newly added (Carter Bykowski, Henry Josey, Ahmad Dixon) or David Yankey.
With a starting linebacker corps of Gerald Hodges, Audie Cole and Jasper Brinkley (perhaps) expect the Vikings to be in nickel as often as make sense. Also, don’t be surprised if the Bears attempt to roll with two or one receiver on the field for as often as they can in order to force the Vikings to play all their linebackers instead of bringing Josh Robinson on and a linebacker off. Also notable, new promotion Josh Kaddu is active.
The linebacker problem is an enormous one, and if the Vikings lose, I wouldn’t be surprised if they swung the match in Chicago’s favor.
On the other hand, the Vikings seemingly do not have to rely on Vlad Ducasse with Charlie Johnson active and presumably starting.
Aside from that, we have Zach Line‘s first game as an active player, and a return of Yankey to the inactive list. Line will likely not see any snaps, and Yankey hasn’t done enough in workouts, evidently, to impress the Zimmer staff enough to see the field. It doesn’t help Yankey’s case that Charlie Johnson is active. Scott Crichton is active once more, but he doesn’t figure to see many snaps.
Expect Matt Asiata to carry the running game with occasional spells by Joe Banyard. Sharrif Floyd being active will help in a big way (and he was fully healthy this week) in the run game, but may not be enough to overcome the loss of linebackers.
The safeties will be Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo while the starting linebackers will be Gerald Hodges (SLB), Jasper Brinkley (MLB) and Audie Cole (WLB). Hodges will keep his spot replacing Anthony Barr while Cole is replacing Greenway.
| NAME | POSITION | INJURY | WED. | THU. | FRI. | STATUS | GAMEDAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clausen, Jimmy | QB | Concussion | Out | Out | Out | Out | Inactive |
| Conte, Chris | S | Back | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out | Inactive |
| Gould, Robbie | K | Right Quadricep | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out | Inactive |
| Louis-Jean, Al | CB | Hamstring | – | – | DNP | Questionable | Inactive |
| Lane, Austen | DE | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Leno, Charles | T | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Dunn. Brandon | DT | None | – | – | – | N/A | Inactive |
| Allen, Jared | DE | Ribs | DNP | DNP | LP | Questionable | Active |
| Ratliff, Jeremiah | DT | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | Questionable | Active |
| Bass, David | DE | Knee | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Long, Kyle | G | Hip | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Wilson, Marquess | WR | Knee | LP | LP | FP | Probable | Active |
| Ferguson, Ego | DT | Ankle | FP | FP | FP | Probable | Active |
With Brandon Marshall on injured reserve, expect to see more runs, even with Marquess Wilson on the field (as detailed above). Checkdowns and routes designed for interior players (slot receivers, tight ends and running backs) will be a priority, with Chicago working to take advantage of the linebacker problems.
It will be a tougher game than it initially looked. It may finally be up to the offense, not the defense, to deliver.