Vikings Rule Out 3 Heavy Hitters for Falcons Game
The Minnesota Vikings published their final injury report on Friday, two days before a Sunday Night Football date with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Minnesota Vikings released their final injury report on Friday, and three big names won’t be available for Sunday Night Football.
The list is a bit long for comfort, especially for just Week 2 of the regular season.
Vikings Injury Report | Week 2
It’s not very promising for the purple infirmary report this early in the season.
Christian Darrisaw Out (ACL)
For three months, optimism has swirled over Darrisaw’s return from a torn ACL that he suffered in October 2024. His summer went great, and he’s even practicing fully now in Eagan.
Yet, when the rubber has hit the road for regular season readiness, Darrisaw’s injury recovery continues to mirror T.J. Hockenson’s last year. That is — holding him out of an abundance of caution.
Once again, Minnesota will rely on reserve left tackle Justin Skule against the Falcons, a man who didn’t play overly well in Week 1, logging a 55.8 Pro Football Focus grade at Chicago. The build-up to Week 3 versus the Cincinnati Bengals will also feature a Darrisaw waiting game.
No Andrew Van Ginkel (Concussion)
The Bears game also did Andrew Van Ginkel no favors, knocking the versatile pass rusher out of Week 2 with a concussion. Such recoveries, per return to regular season games, usually take nine days. So, the good news on Van Ginkel: he should be fully ready for Week 3 against Joe Burrow and friends.
Without Van Ginkel, second-year outside linebacker Dallas Turner will get the start and likely play his most snaps ever in a regular season game. Turner has the chance to truly break out against Atlanta, the team many pundits and fans would pick him in the 2024 NFL Draft.
A Concussion for Jeff Okudah, Too
Like Van Ginkel, Okudah suffered a concussion at the Bears, an injury that occurred on the game’s final play. He’ll miss Sunday Night Football. Okudah played just 16 defensive snaps in Week 1, so it’s unclear if he would’ve played a large role anyway in Week 2.
The next man up on the depth chart? An undrafted free agent from the 2024 class, cornerback Dwight McGlothern.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores said about McGlothern this week: “Yeah, I mean, we got Nudie (Dwight McGlothern). Nudie obviously had a really good training camp and he’s somebody we feel good about,” Flores said Thursday. “So in those situations, he would go.”
“Okudah is in the protocol. We’ll take that day-by-day and see how that all shakes out, but Nudie would be the first guy that comes to mind. And we got a lot of confidence in him.”
Questionable: Harrison Smith
Still battling a mysterious ailment, Smith is officially questionable — an oxymoron, right? — for SNF. Smith told reporters this week that he was ramping up to practice and play, but his game-readiness is not certain for the Falcons tilt.
Sans Smith, safety Jay Ward played quite well on Monday, and of course, recently-promoted Theo Jackson is hungry for his increased role.
Smith News and Notes
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote about Smith this week: “Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith said Wednesday that he has made progress in his recovery from a personal health issue that began last month and is confident that he will resume playing in less than three weeks.”
“Speaking publicly for the first time since the ordeal began, Smith declined to be specific about the nature of the issue other than to say it was ‘physical’ — as opposed to a mental health matter. The Vikings are preparing for Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons on a short week after playing Monday night in Chicago, and on Wednesday they had only a walk-through planned.”
Smith ranks eighth in Vikings history in total games played.
“But Smith, who practiced last Saturday for the first time since Aug. 11, said he planned to continue pushing forward. The Vikings did not place Smith on injured reserve when the season began, indicating they hoped Smith’s recovery timetable would be shorter than the four-game minimum absence required for players on IR,” Seifert added.
All told, Minnesota will be without these starters against the Falcons:
— C.J. Ham
— Jeff Okudah
— Blake Cashman
— Jordan Addison
— Christian Darrisaw
— Andrew Van Ginkel
So six — and seven if Smith can’t play.
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