The Minnesota Vikings travel to Chicago to take on the division rival Bears on Sunday afternoon. Fans will be keeping tabs on a few key players ahead of the NFC North clash, as they have five starters on their injury report.
Most notably, quarterback Kyler Murray was listed as limited with a concussion, which is a good sign for his status after a scary hit on Sunday. Linebacker Blake Cashman (wrist), edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (chest), and offensive tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) were also listed as limited participants.
Receiver Jauan Jennings also missed practice as he deals with what Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell described as a “personal family matter.”
Fans are definitely hoping the players being listed as limited is nothing more than a precautionary measure. Minnesota will already be down running back Jordan Mason, who landed on short-term IR with a thumb injury, and they can’t afford to lose any other starters.
Kyler Murray Is By Far The Biggest Question Mark
Even with some key players on the report, quarterback Kyler Murray’s status is easily the biggest headliner of the group. The fact that he’s seemingly ahead of schedule is a huge development for Minnesota, but it still might be difficult to get cleared through concussion protocol before Sunday’s game.
O’Connell said that he hopes to have an answer on whether Murray will be good to go by Friday at the latest. If he can’t clear the protocol by that point, then he probably won’t be playing (at least according to O’Connell) on Sunday.
“I think Friday,” O’Connell said when speaking to reporters this afternoon. “Having the ability to go through the next couple of days for sure, see where he’s at. At the same time, deferring so much to those medical professionals that he’s talking to. He’s got to be medically cleared before we even have the conversation about playing in the game. The protocol is kind of the guiding light behind all this.”
The Other Usual Suspects…
Fans might not be surprised to see Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, and Brian O’Neill listed on the injury report. Under different circumstances, their inclusion might be a major reason for alarm, as they’re three of the Vikings best players on their respective sides of the ball.
However, all three players have been regulars on the injury report over the past few seasons. To O’Neill and Van Ginkel’s credit, they usually play through whatever ailments they’re dealing with. Nevertheless, the former was forced to miss three games last season with a sprained MCL, and the latter missed four games with a neck injury and one more with a concussion.
Meanwhile, Cashman also missed four games last season with a strained hamstring. He’s also never played a full season across his seven years in the league.
The fact that all three players were limited participants in practice is a good early sign for their ability to play on Sunday. However, the team would definitely like them to get a full practice in before confirming their status ahead of the matchup.
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