Ginormous Vikings Injury Report Comes into Focus
The Minnesota Vikings will play for pride this weekend against the Washington Commanders — unless the club plans to win five straight games while hoping the Green Bay Packers lose out. That’s the last remaining playoff scenario for the purple team. Along the way, Minnesota’s colossal injury report of 15 players has come back to earth.
A huge Vikings injury report that opened with 15 names midweek has now tightened before kickoff against Washington, bringing key clarity.
Minnesota began the week with 15 players on Wednesday’s injury report, but as of Saturday, the document looks a bit more reasonable.
Vikings Injury Report vs. Commanders
Who’s out, in, and questionable?
The Out
The following Vikings players are out at home against Washington:
- Theo Jackson (S)
- Levin Drake Rodriguez (DT)
Vikings.com‘s Craig Peters wrote Friday, “The Vikings on Friday ruled out safety Theo Jackson and defensive lineman Levi Drake Rodriguez for their noon (CT) game against the Commanders. Jackson and Rodriguez are both dealing with neck injuries.”
Third-year safety Jay Ward should see more playing time with Jackson out, and Minnesota may increase Javon Hargrave’s workload sans Rodriguez. Undrafted free agent Elijah Williams could also get some playing time; he balled out in the preseason.
The Maybe
And the Questionables:
- Ty Chandler (RB)
- Christian Darrisaw (LT)
- Donovan Jackson (LG)
Peters noted, “Minnesota (4-8) listed left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) and left guard Donovan Jackson (ankle) as questionable for the tilt against Washington (3-9). Darrisaw, Theo Jackson and Donovan Jackson did not play in Week 13 at Seattle. Minnesota listed running back Ty Chandler (knee) as questionable. Chandler’s 21-day evaluation window opened this week as part of his return from Injured Reserve.”
Chandler, who is slated to hit free agency in three months, will see action for the first time since Week 1 when he hurt his knee. He’s a running back and could also see some special teams returning action.
On the starting left tackle, head coach Kevin O’Connell sounded bullish on Darrisaw’s trajectory. The veteran lineman will likely be good to go this weekend. Donovan Jackson is the mysterious one. He’s a 50-50 coin flip for Week 14. If Jackson cannot play, Minnesota will likely roll with Blake Brandel, who plays every offensive line position, versus Washington.
The Good to Go
Earlier this week, some suspense gathered about these players’ statuses:
- Jonathan Greenard (OLB)
- Aaron Jones (RB)
- Josh Metellus (S)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- J.J. McCarthy (QB)
- Jalen Redmond (DT)
The report began the week with the aforementioned 15 players, but with the list above, the huge injury report has slimmed, and fear about a severely shorthanded squad is moot.
The big waiting game for Saturday and Sunday is Jackson, the rookie left guard.
What about Washington?
The major takeaway regarding Washington’s injury situation is straightforward: Jayden Daniels has returned, just in time for the Vikings.
From the team’s official website: “He’s back. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who suffered a gruesome dislocated elbow against the Seattle Seahawks and missed the last four games, has been cleared for contact and will start on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.”
“Daniels returned to practice last week but was considered a long shot to play against the Denver Broncos, per head coach Dan Quinn. After being limited on Wednesday this week, he was a full participant on Thursday and Friday.”
Two Commanders players were ruled out Friday: offensive tackle George Fant and defensive end Drake Jackson. Linebacker Bobby Wagner is Questionable with a knee injury, while wide receiver Noah Brown has the same status due to a knee and toe problem.
The Washington Post‘s Tom Schad on Daniels: “Daniels, the reigning offensive rookie of the year, is generally thought of as a running quarterback. The truth, though, is that he gets most of his yards when scrambling rather than on designed run plays or run-pass options — especially outside the red zone.
According to TruMedia, Daniels has scrambled on a whopping 13 percent of his dropbacks since he entered the NFL at the start of last year — the highest rate among any quarterback with more than 100 dropbacks during that span.”
“He has also scrambled for 152 more yards than any other signal-caller in the league, despite missing so much of this season with injuries. Daniels’s evasiveness and speed while scrambling are what set him apart from other quarterbacks, but they can also expose him to hits that others might not take. It’s why Quinn noted upon Daniels’s return to practice that part of the quarterback’s learning process revolves around him continuing to learn to play the position safely.”
Minnesota has largely dominated the head-to-head matchup as of late, winning five times in the last six tries.
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