We’ll have the final injury reports for the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions ahead of the Christmas Day matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium, but first, we want to do a quick roundup of some of the roster moves that the purple have made over the past couple of days.
Yesterday, the Vikings officially made the move to activate Ty Chandler from injured reserve. Chandler injured his knee way back in Week 1 against Chicago on a kickoff return and was placed on IR. He had his window for return opened a few weeks ago, and the team was right up against the deadline to either activate him or leave him on IR, which would have ended his season. He will be available to the team for the final two games.
The team also brought back a familiar face at quarterback, claiming Brett Rypien off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts. Rypien spent the 2024 season with Minnesota, being waived towards the end of the season so the team could elevate Daniel Jones to the active roster. He also spent training camp this season with the Vikings, but was waived and ended up with Cincinnati. The Bengals waived him when they brought in Joe Flacco, and he made his way to Indianapolis.
Today, the team made the decision to place center Ryan Kelly on injured reserve, ending his season and, possibly, his career. Kelly suffered yet another concussion on Sunday against the New York Giants, which is his third of the season and the sixth (documented) concussion of his career. The Vikings signed him to a two-year deal this past offseason, but with his concussion history, he may be looking at retirement. Even if he’s not, it’s hard to imagine the Vikings bringing him back in 2026.
To take Kelly’s spot on the 53-man roster, the team signed lineman Henry Byrd from the practice squad to the active roster. Byrd has appeared in a couple of games for the Vikings this season, playing 12 snaps, all on special teams.
The team has also elevated linebacker Sione Takitaki to the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Lions. This is the second consecutive week that the team has brought Takitaki up to the active roster from the practice squad. He logged 12 special teams snaps last week in the victory over New York.
Those are all of the moves for the Vikings ahead of Thursday afternoon’s game, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll have the final injury reports of the week here for you shortly.
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