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Let’s get the final accounting
We’ve gotten our hands on the final injury reports for the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings ahead of Sunday’s contest at U.S. Bank Stadium and. . .well, one side has a lot of questions that need to be answered before kickoff.
Let’s get a look at the final reports.
Gardner-Johnson won’t be coming back from IR this week, as the team has declared him out. The only starter given an injury designation by the Lions heading into this one is Barnes, who is doubtful to play with a shoulder injury. The Lions have declared four players out already, but Gardner-Johnson isn’t on the roster yet and the rest don’t appear, on the surface, to be super impactful losses. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong on that.
Now, on to the home team. . .and you might want to avert your eyes, because this is gonna be a rough one.
Two players declared out for the Vikings for this one, including top cornerback Byron Murphy, who has been having a very solid season to this point. That’s going to leave Akayleb Evans and rookie Mekhi Blackmon as the top two corners against a potentially explosive Detroit offense. Here’s hoping they can hold up and/or the pass rush can get to Jared Goff. The team also has Jaylin Williams and Joejuan Williams on the practice squad, and I’d expect at least one of them to get elevated before Sunday’s game.
The Vikings also have six players listed as questionable, nearly all of whom are either starters or key contributors. Pace is a late add to the injury report with a shoulder issue, which is something you don’t want to see on a Friday injury report. Mattison and O’Neill could each miss their second straight game, though in Mattison’s case Kevin O’Connell has said that Ty Chandler is going to be a bigger part of the offense going forward. It does appear as though Jordan Hicks is ready to come back, though the team hasn’t officially activated him yet. Bullard and Phillips could be significant losses as well given the strength of Detroit’s ground game.
Hopefully by the time Sunday comes around a lot of those “questionable” types will be feeling a whole lot better. . .roster’s gonna be awfully thin of multiple guys have to sit out of this one.
Those are the final injury reports for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium, folks. We’ll have more on this game for you as we get closer to kickoff.