Vikings Defender Speaks Out after the Cheap Shot
The Detroit Lions are up to their old tricks, and Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel isn’t a huge fan.
After another dirty hit by the Detroit Lions last weekend, one Minnesota Vikings defender has spoken out, claiming he wasn’t a fan of the ordeal.
Van Ginkel was blown up from the blindside last weekend, managing to make a tackle for loss seconds later and addressing the matter on Wednesday.
Vikings OLB Andrew Van Ginkel Speaks on Dirty Hit
This isn’t the first time the Lions have done this.
Van Ginkel Speaks on DET Matter
Van Ginkel took a huge hit from Lions wideout Kalif Raymond, shook off cobwebs for a millisecond, and then rebounded by logging a tackle for loss.
“Obviously, getting hit on the side, I’m just going to pass rush. And all of a sudden, I get whiplash because the guy blindsides me. I’m not going to go into too much detail about it, but I wasn’t too pleased with it,” Van Ginkel said.
“I think that it’s something that the league should look at, if it’s something that they need to take out of the game. Because we can’t be doing that. When you’re pass rushing like that, you are not anticipating someone blindsiding from the side. I’m trying to get off the ball, get a good pass rush. I had no clue he was there. How are we supposed to protect ourselves in those cases?”
Van Ginkel actually called it a “dirty hit,” while his teammate, Eric Wilson, called it “absolute bullsh|t.”
Footage of the Hit
Haven’t seen the hit? Or missed it in real time? We’ve got you covered.
Naturally, Raymond was not flagged on the play, and the saga continues for the Lions’ suspect antics. After the hit’s fallout, Vikings fans and NFL onlookers praised Van Ginkel’s grit for not missing a beat and still making the TFL on the same transaction.
And, a friendly reminder: Van Ginkel had just recovered from a concussion and neck ailment. No wonder the guy is ticked about the dirty hit.
The Kerby Joseph Situation in 2023
T.J. Hockenson tore his ACL against the Lions in December 2023, cutting short what had been a stellar full season in purple. The injury came on a low hit from Lions safety Kerby Joseph — the same defender who, just two weeks later, ended Rams tight end Tyler Higbee’s season in nearly identical fashion. Both tight ends spent most of 2024 grinding through the same long, unforgiving recovery process.
The hit put Joseph and other Lions players on Vikings fans’ radar for dirty tendencies, so Week 9’s Raymond-Van Ginkel incident felt all too familiar.
Here’s the play two years ago involving Joseph and Hockenson:
A Rematch at the End of the Season
In Week 17, one week before the regular season concludes, Minnesota and Detroit will square off yet again, this time at U.S. Bank Stadium and possibly with playoff seeding on the line.
Just like Joseph in 2023, fans will remember Raymond’s hit, and the man will probably receive some boos from fans in attendance. That’s the arrangement with Joseph to this day and will likely extend to Raymond.
It’s worth noting that despite Raymond’s blindside wallop, Minnesota won at Ford Field for the first time in five years.
Vikings Coaches on the Hit
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores took the high road regarding Raymond’s hit.
He told reporters this week, “I didn’t think it was malicious. I think it was kind of a bang-bang situation. I see kind of both sides of it. I do think it’s something that maybe the NFL should take a look at. I’ll leave it there. Thankfully, there was no big injury, and he’s OK. So we’ll chalk it up to football, and then we’ll let the league kind of look at it and see if they want to take a harder stance or anything like that.”
Kevin O’Connell remarked, “I showed the team a clip of him today, he got hit from outside, got knocked from kind of a blindside block on a screen, and he’s on the ground but still recognizes that Gibbs had the ball on a screen and he makes the play. Obviously, we all see the intercepting a screen for a touchdown or picking off a hot throw in a cover zero, but it’s all of those little ones that he does. And then it’s just the communication, everybody’s on the same page.”
“We had way more snaps with Andrew Van Ginkel on the field where all 11 guys did their jobs and knew exactly what the call was. He provides so many layers of things to our defense that allow Brian Flores to be who he wants to be as a play-caller. Gink helps everybody else around him, not only himself, play at a high level.”
The Vikings host the Ravens this Sunday, with a chance to peek over .500 again.
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