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The Minnesota Vikings will wrap up the final two games of the 2022 campaign without a meaningful contributor on the defensive side of the football.
Third-year defensive tackle James Lynch is set to miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder issue, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
“#Vikings DT James Lynch, one of the team’s impressive young defenders, will miss the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury, source said,” Rapoport tweeted on Monday, December 26. “The plan is to pull back and rehab, with the hope that he can return for the playoffs.”
Nose tackle Khyiris Tonga and defensive end Esezi Otomewo are likely to get more run in Lynch’s absence, per Tyler Forness of USA Today.
During the course of his career, Lynch has appeared in 37 games and made three starts. The fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has amassed 53 tackles, including four tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hits and one fumble recovery over that span.
Vikings Cornerback Cameron Dantzler Still Hampered by Ankle Injury
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GettyCornerback Cameron Dantzler of the Minnesota Vikings on the field at SoFi Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Starting cornerback Cameron Dantzler remains in danger of joining Lynch on the sidelines for Minnesota’s upcoming New Year’s Day showdown with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Dantzler missed last weekend’s contest against the New York Giants with a nagging ankle injury that also landed him on the injured reserve (IR) list for four games earlier this season. The defensive back spoke about the injury with Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press on December 24.
“I re-injured it a little bit [Wednesday], but I’ll be OK,” Dantzler said, per Tomasson’s report.
The CB has missed six of the team’s last seven games, including two weeks ago against the Indianapolis Colts, though he told Tomasson that absence was due to an illness.
“I got the flu,” Dantzler said. “My body was kind of down.”
Dantzler added that he is “hopeful” he will be able to go against the Packers next weekend in a game that means a great deal to both teams.
Vikings Still Have Much to Play For Over Final 2 Weeks of Season
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GettyWide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates on the field after defeating the Green Bay Packers 23-7 at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The absence of Lynch and the potential absence of Dantzler are big deals considering the stakes Sunday’s game holds for the Vikings.
Green Bay (7-8) is fighting for its playoff life and must win out to have a chance, while Minnesota (12-3) remains alive for the No. 1 seed in the NFC and must continue to win to fend off the surging San Francisco 49ers and keep ahold of the No. 2 seed that the Vikings currently occupy.
Clinching the second seed would guarantee Minnesota back-to-back home games in the playoffs, assuming they win their first matchup on Wildcard Weekend. Delivering the death blow to the Packers and officially knocking their rivals out of the playoffs would also be a nice feather in the cap of a Vikings team that has finished the last three seasons looking up at Green Bay in the divisional standings.
As of Monday, Green Bay was a 3-point favorite to defeat Minnesota.
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