First look into injury status of both teams ahead of Sunday’s matchup
The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears issued their first injury report of the week ahead of their matchup on Sunday. Here they are:
Chicago Bears
- OT Kiran Amegadjie, Calf, Did not practice (DNP)
- OT Ryan Bates, Concussion, DNP
- S Elijah Hicks, Ankle, DNP
- RB D’Andre Swift, Groin, DNP
- LG Teven Jenkins, Ankle, LP
Starters on the list for the Bears include Hicks, Swift and Jenkins.
Jenkins starting off the week limited would seem to indicate he’s more likely to play on Sunday. This was his first day back in practice after missing practice last week and not playing against the Packers. He suffered the ankle injury in week 10.
D’Andre Swift did not practice with a groin injury on Wednesday. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus seemed more optimistic in tone about Swift being able to play on Sunday, but when pressed about his status Eberflus said he was, “hopeful” Swift will play on Sunday. Eberflus’ past ‘hopeful’ comments on player injury status has a track record of them not playing, so for the moment I’d consider Swift more doubtful. Losing him would be a significant blow to the Bears’ offense, which needs all the help that it can get. Getting Jenkins back, however, is a positive for them.
Starting safety Elijah Hicks suffered an ankle injury against the Packers last weekend and didn’t practice today. That’s not a good sign for him playing on Sunday, but we’ll see how he progresses the rest of the week.
Minnesota Vikings
- TE Josh Oliver, Ankle, DNP
- DT Jonathan Bullard, Toe, Limited
- QB Sam Darnold, Foot, Limited
- RB Aaron Jones, Ribs, Full participant
- OLB Gabe Murphy, Knee, Full participant
- TE Nick Muse, Hand, Full participant
For the Vikings, Kevin O’Connell only mentioned Josh Oliver in his press conference today. Oliver suffered an ankle sprain in Sunday’s game against the Titans and O’Connell suggested after the game that he might miss some practice time this week before being evaluated for Sunday’s game against the Bears. O’Connell said they’re still trying to figure out the severity of the sprain and he’ll continue treatment this week before deciding on his status for the Bears game.
Bullard and Darnold are likely minor issues or O’Connell would’ve mentioned them. Aaron Jones’ rib injury is an on-going one that didn’t keep him out last weekend and is unlikely to this week either, as he was still a full participant.
Murphy and Muse are in their return from IR windows and I would guess Murphy is activated this week as this is his last week to do so or go back to IR for the rest of the season. Muse’s window just opened, so whether he’s activated or not depends on if the Vikings are willing to make another corresponding roster move to do so.
Overall for the Vikings it looks like Oliver is the only one questionable for the Bears game at this point. We’ll get a better idea on his status later this week if he’s able to practice or not.
Stay tuned.
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