Vikings Week 7 Injury Report Is Mostly Smiles
It’s about time for the Minnesota Vikings’ injury ledger to heal, as the club experienced a wicked number of health setbacks in the season’s first five games. Minnesota released its final Week 7 injury report on Friday, a document mainly containing good news.
With the Philadelphia Eagles lurking in Week 7, the Minnesota Vikings will welcome back key players, with a handful of questionables to boot.
And the Vikings will need every healthy body they can find to topple the world champion Eagles. The short story is that Minnesota’s players are returning to full health. Slowly but surely.
Injury Report for Vikings Creates Encouragement
Players are gradually healing, and it’s a relief.
Carson Wentz to Start
Because some might use this article to check the quarterback status foremost, Carson Wentz will make his fourth consecutive start, as J.J. McCarthy is questionable. His high ankle sprain hasn’t fully healed, and he’ll be the emergency quarterback on Sunday.
Wentz battled a left shoulder injury that healed over the bye week. Rookie passer Max Brosmer will serve as the QB2 against the Eagles. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said he didn’t enjoy just two active quarterbacks in London, so McCarthy is on deck if injuries knock Wentz and Brosmer out.
On the whole, all signs point to McCarthy resuming his starting job in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions. Week 8 brings just a four-day break before Thursday Night Football, and O’Connell has said that he wants a full week of health and practice from McCarthy.
Blake Cashman, Donovan Jackson Back
Cashman injured his hamstring in Week 1, sending him to injured reserve for four weeks. The Vikings have about 24 hours to activate for gameday, and all credible reporting suggests they’ll do precisely that. Cashman is back.
Moreover, rookie guard Donovan Jackson missed two games with a wrist injury, and after a small surgery, he’s clean off the injury report.
It’s all systems go for Cashman and Jackson, a big damn deal.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert highlighted the importance of the Vikings’ defense in the coming weeks, noting, “They will play five of the league’s top 10 teams during the next eight weeks, and ESPN Analytics currently favors them to win only two of their remaining games.”
“To maintain competitiveness during that stretch, the Vikings will surely need a level of consistency and certainty at quarterback, whether it is behind J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz or a combination of the two. No less important, however, is the necessity to play near-dominant defense to meet the challenge of the schedule.”
Minnesota has been down at least one defensive starter in every game this season, a trend that will continue into Week 7.
“The Vikings’ defense has been good this season, ranking No. 5 in scoring allowed (19.4 points per game) and No. 2 in expected points added per play (-0.08). But it has exhibited some weaknesses that defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his staff spent the bye week unpacking, most notably against the run (No. 24 in success rate),” Seifert continued.
“That has allowed teams to control the ball against them, as opponents have averaged 31:04 in time of possession, No. 23 in the NFL. And while they are tied for No. 10 in the league after forcing seven turnovers, five of them came in one game — a 48-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 — and none in their past two.”
The Questionbles
These men may or may not play versus the Eagles:
- Tyler Batty (OLB)
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (DT)
- Michael Jurgens (C)
- J.J. McCarthy (QB)
- Brian O’Neill (QB)
Batty has a chance to make his NFL debut. Ingram-Dawkins is working through a hip ailment. It’s a hamstring problem for Jurgens, the backup center, and Blake Brandel is expected to start for a second consecutive game at his new position. McCarthy is the emergency quarterback, as mentioned earlier, as he recovers from the high ankle sprain. On O’Neill, he’s the big question for Sunday.
O’Neill sprained his MCL in Dublin, avoiding IR, which was fantastic, but sprained MCLs have different severities. If you’re looking to wait on pins and needles Saturday and Sunday, just follow O’Neill’s status.
If O’Neill can’t play in Week 7, Justin Skule will get the nod yet again.
Andrew Van Ginkel Out
Sadly, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel hasn’t quite healed fully from his neck injury.
In Week 1, Van Ginkel sustained a concussion that sidelined him for the ugly Week 2 home loss to the Falcons. He cleared protocol in time for Week 3 but curiously saw the field for only eight snaps — and somehow turned those into two sacks before tweaking his neck. The reason for limited snaps turned out to be an injured neck.
That was more than a month ago. Since then, Van Ginkel’s been rehabbing steadily and is expected back before the end of the month, assuming no setbacks.
Van Ginkel logged limited practices all week. Now, his reemergence will likely occur in Week 8 or Week 9 — not unlike the aforementioned timeline of McCarthy’s.
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