Josh Metellus Practices in Full on Thursday, Bradbury Still Sidelined Ahead of Week 18
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have released their Thursday injury report, and the same 4 Vikings appear on Thursday’s report as they did on Wednesday. The only change on Thursday is that Josh Metellus practiced in full. Here’s the full list of players and statuses:
- C Garrett Bradbury- DNP (back)
- DL James Lynch- DNP (shoulder)
- LB Brian Asamoah- Limited (knee)
- S Josh Metellus- Full (thigh)
Metellus has been a huge special teams contributor for the Vikings, and he now has blocked punts in back-to-back weeks. He’s also filled in on the defensive side at safety, particularly when Harrison Smith missed Week 14 against the Detroit Lions. His continued contributions will be needed moving into the playoffs.
However, neither Garrett Bradbury or James Lynch practiced on Thursday, and both seem to be trending towards missing another game in Week 18 against Chicago. Bradbury has been out for each of the past four weeks, and Lynch is trending towards missing his second straight game. Minnesota also lost backup center Austin Schlottmann this week to a fractured fibula, and while they signed Greg Mancz earlier in the week, Bradbury could be a crucial piece to the Vikings playoff run.
Meanwhile, rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah was limited once again with a knee injury. He has become an ever-growing piece of the Vikings defense in recent weeks, appearing in over 20 snaps in each of the past three weeks. As of now, there is no indication that he will miss Week 18, but a continued limited presence could lead the Vikings to play it safe with their 2022 third-round pick.
On the other side, the Chicago Bears are now up to 10 players on their Thursday injury report, after having eight players on the list on Wednesday. Here’s their full list of players from Thursday:
- DL Angelo Blackson- DNP (illness)
- S Jaquan Brisker- Full (personal)
- OL Jatyre Carter- Full (back)
- QB Justin Fields- DNP (hip)
- CB Kyler Gordon- Limited (groin)
- DB Jaylon Jones- DNP (concussion)
- WR Dante Pettis- Full (head)
- LS Patrick Scales- DNP (neck)
- LB Sterling Weatherford- DNP (illness)
- TE Trevon Wesco- Full (ankle)
The Bears have already ruled their young QB Justin Fields as out for Week 18’s game. In his place, it will be Nathan Peterman making the start at quarterback for Chicago. It will be the first start for the QB since the 2019 season with the Buffalo Bills.
Seeing as Chicago has very little motivation to win this game, being long eliminated from the playoffs and just half a game away from the No. 1 overall pick, it would be very unsurprising to see many of these players on the list sit this game out.
In particular, two of their standout defensive backs, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon, should be top candidates to sit this game out. The rookies have had fabulous 2022 campaigns, and their long-term health should be prioritized over a single meaningless game at the end of the regular season.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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