Vikings Week 16 Injury Report Off to a Brutal Start
The Minnesota Vikings take on the New York Giants in three days, and out of the gate in Week 16, three starting offensive linemen — like the best ones — did not practice.
Early-week absences on the offensive line are forcing Minnesota into Plan B mode fast, and the practice reps tell the story.
There are still a couple of days of practice to determine who will play, but the initial signal was terrible for Minnesota.
Vikings Battered Offensive Line Becomes the Week 16 Storyline
Of course, the offensive line is banged up.
Darrisaw, O’Neill, Kelly Do Not Practice
The Vikings’ best three offensive linemen did not practice to start Week 16: Christian Darrisaw (left tackle), Ryan Kelly (center), and Brian O’Neill (right tackle).
Vikings.com‘s Craig Peters noted, “The Vikings limited their on-field work Wednesday to a walk-through ahead of visiting the New York Giants at noon (CT) Sunday as part of Week 16. Because the session was a walk-through, Minnesota’s participation levels are estimated.”
Because there was no formal practice — only a walk-through — optimists will maintain hope that all or some of the linemen will rally and practice on Thursday.
Fully Healthy Line Continues to Be Elusive
The Vikings have showcased their fully healthy offensive line just once this season. Since the very beginning of the season, at least one man is always out with some injury or another, starting with Darrisaw in Week 1 and affecting others along the way — sometimes two at once.
The offensive line was supposed to feed families this year, as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah assembled the best five-man unit in recent memory — on paper. Injuries have ruined it.
Thankfully, the group has held up well for the most part, aside from the parade of injuries. It’s just that the best version has hardly been seen by fans, sans one game.
OL Held Up Last Week without Darrisaw
Not for nothing, Minnesota trenches may have played their best game of the year last week at Dallas — without Darrisaw.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was not sacked at all, a total change of pace for him and all Vikings quarterbacks who have entered the starting lineup this year. Meanwhile, the Giants’ defensive front has a strange situation in 2025. The group features fantastic players such as Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Abdul Carter, among others. But the defense, as a whole, is one of the worst in the NFL by the numbers.
Therefore, if Minnesota can hold up in the trenches — as it did on Sunday Night Football — McCarthy could cook again. Life without Darrisaw went just fine a few days ago, thanks to a commendable performance by veteran offensive tackle Justin Skule.
Friday Verdicts
Minnesota will issue final verdicts this Friday on Darrisaw, Kelly, and O’Neill. Darrisaw is probably the longest of the longshots to play. He has been deemed “week to week” by the coaching staff. Kelly and O’Neill face better odds. When it’s all said and done, Kelly and O’Neill may have been held out of the Wednesday walk-through as a precaution.
If all three could not see the field in New York (New Jersey), the replacements would look like this:
- Darrisaw ——.> Justin Skule
- Kelly ——.> Blake Brandel
- O’Neill ——.> Walter Rouse
Having all three reserve players in the lineup at the same time might cause problems against Lawrence, Burns, and Carter.
SI.com on the Injuries
Will Ragatz of SI.com noted on the Wednesday injury report, “When healthy, rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo have been bright spots on New York’s offense. But the strength of this Giants team lies in its defensive line.”
“Burns doesn’t even lead the Giants in pressures. That would be rookie No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter, who has 48 pressures despite only having 2.5 sacks this season (two of which have come over the past two weeks). Then there’s three-time Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence at defensive tackle. Lawrence has been in a deep sack drought, with just 0.5 in his last 19 games after he had 9.0 in the first seven games of 2024.”
Vegas believes the Giants will lose to the Vikings by a field goal on Sunday.
Ragatz added, “Still, out of 159 DTs with at least 100 snaps this season, Lawrence’s PFF pass rush grade ranks fourth. Even without the fourth member of their quartet, Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder), those three Giants will pose a major threat to the Vikings this Sunday — especially if the offensive line in front of J.J. McCarthy is at less than full strength.”
“We’ll see if backups like Justin Skule, Blake Brandel, and Michael Jurgens end up being called upon.”
Darrisaw has missed 29% of games this season.
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