Final Vikings Injury Report at Lions Turns Heads
Injuries have dominated the Minnesota Vikings’ main storylines in 2025, but thankfully for the team’s sake, the Week 9 injury report might be the kindest since Week 1.
The Vikings are one day away from trying to snap a losing streak at Ford Field against the Lions, and the final injury report helped along the way.
While some key players are still missing — Ryan Kelly, C.J. Ham, and Jeff Okudah — it’s time to be optimistic about Minnesota’s injury situation. The club is inching closer to total health.
Vikings Injury Report Delivers Pleasant Surprises
The defense is mostly whole.
EDGE Rushers in a Good Spot for DET
Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel practiced fully near the end of the week, with Greenard hopping off the injury report altogether. He will play Sunday, barring a weird Saturday setback. Van Ginkel is slightly more mysterious. He logged full practices all week, but pulled down a Questionable status for the Lions showdown.
Usually, when a player notches full practices in a week, he plays. Fans will merely hope that’s the case for Van Ginkel. It might be a bit strange if he doesn’t play based on the week of practice in Eagan.
OTs Trending That Way, Too
Vikings.com‘s Craig Peters wrote, “Minnesota (3-4) will play its first noon (CT) road game of the 2025 season on Sunday, Nov. 2. The team completed its practice week Friday and listed tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill as questionable, along with outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and safety Joshua Metellus, who was added to the report Friday because of a foot injury.”
Darrisaw is working through the final stages of his ACL recovery program and didn’t play much in Los Angeles nine days ago. O’Neill didn’t play at all that night.
But the pair mixed and matched limited and full practices all week. The momentum feels like both will play at Detroit, but stranger things have happened than the Vikings coaching and training staff operating under an abundance of caution.
The Questionables
Metellus is the wildcard this week.
No one had him on the injury radar until Friday, when, as Peters mentioned, he practiced in a limited capacity due to a new foot injury. The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis called it “a little foot soreness” for Metellus, which doesn’t sound like an injury that would prevent Metellus’ game participation.
In theory, if Metellus’ injury took a turn for the worse on Saturday or Sunday, reserve safety Jay Ward would be in line for an increased snap count. Ward actually played well to start the season when Harrison Smith missed the first couple of games.
Who’s Out?
Kelly, Ham, and Okudah are out; they won’t play at the Lions. Kelly’s concussion status is totally up in the air, with most fans expecting him not to return at all.
Ham could be back as early as Week 10. Okudah, too, is battling a concussion and hasn’t played well when healthy this season.
And these players are on injured reserve or the Physically Unable to Perform list:
- Gavin Bartholomew (TE)
- Ty Chandler (RB)
- Zeke Correll (C)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- Rondale Moore (WR)
- Matt Nelson (OT)
- Carson Wentz (QB)
The Athletic on Darrisaw
Alec Lewis wrote this week, “Darrisaw’s inarguable value is also why it’s worth taking a deep dive into what has been a seesaw of a 2025 season. Darrisaw didn’t play, then he played. His snaps rose, then fell. Each week feels like another repetition, another opportunity to tackle the same series of questions: Will Darrisaw play?”
“If he does, how much will he play? Is this the week he’ll get a full workload? If it is, does that mean he’ll continue to play a full workload? Sometimes, the answers are murky. Other times, the answers seem clearer, only to slip back into murkiness. The Vikings’ schedule has further muddied the situation.”
Fans were especially confused when the Vikings benched Darrisaw in the 4th Quarter — of all quarters — in London against the Browns. It was crunchtime, and the best offensive lineman was load-managed.
“Taking a two-week trip to Europe is not advantageous for a player returning from a torn ACL and MCL, which Darrisaw suffered last October. Short weeks aren’t beneficial, either. Still, snap counts don’t typically fluctuate like this: 38, 76, 41, 69, nine. And injury designations don’t tend to be this much of a puzzle: questionable, out, questionable, active, active, active, questionable.” Lewis continued.
“The Vikings are more desperate for his presence than ever, with McCarthy set to re-enter the fold. For this season to have any hope, Minnesota needs McCarthy to stay healthy, above all else. That requires the quality Darrisaw has regularly provided: protection.”
Minnesota hasn’t won as an eight-point underdog or larger in 15 years. The line is 9.5 points this Sunday in favor of the Lions.
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