The Vikings listed four starters and a key backup edge rusher as questionable for Saturday's game against the Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium, but coach Kevin O'Connell expects all of them to play.
Danielle Hunter among five Vikings players listed as questionable for Saturday's game
The linebacker along with nose tackle Harrison Phillips and three other key players are all expected to play vs. the Colts.
December 16, 2022 at 2:34AM
"All five have a good chance to go," O'Connell said of center Garrett Bradbury (back), cornerback Cameron Dantzler (illness), nose tackle Harrison Phillips (back) and outside linebackers Danielle Hunter (neck) and Patrick Jones II (illness).
Jones was the only one of the four who didn't practice Thursday. The others were limited.
Meanwhile, four players who had been dealing with injuries — defensive lineman James Lynch (shoulder), inside linebacker Jordan Hicks (ankle), receiver Adam Thielen (rest) and safety Harrison Smith (neck) – weren't given an injury status designation, meaning they will play.
Hunter wasn't on the injury report until Wednesday when he first told the team he was dealing with some soreness in his neck after the Lions game. Hunter missed all of the 2020 season after undergoing neck surgery.
O'Connell said Hunter "got quite a bit of work in" during Wednesday's practice and "did some good things" Thursday.
"We'll kind of evaluate that toward kickoff on Saturday," he added.
Darrisaw: 'I feel great'
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw will return to the field for the first time since suffering concussions in back-to-back games against the Bills and Cowboys last month.
"He's been great," O'Connell said of Darrisaw's week of practice. "Literally, his words were, 'I feel great.' So I am happy that we made sure we were patient with this process. Although he was cleared to play possibly last week, giving him this week helped. I think he's really benefited from that."
Darrisaw played only 44 snaps (53%) against the Bills before leaving the game. He then played only 18 snaps (32%) the following week against the Cowboys.
Feeling 'good' about defense
O'Connell went public Monday and Tuesday with concerns about his 32nd-ranked defense and a not-so-subtle directive to coordinator Ed Donatell to make some schematic changes.
On Thursday, minutes after the last practice of the week ended, O'Connell was asked how he felt about how his defensive people responded this week.
"I feel good about it," he said. "The dialogue was good, both early in the week and then taking a look at some things throughout the week. It's been ongoing.
"There's been an urgency over there that I've felt in preparation, both on some things we want to do better and obviously some new things, tweaks, some things that might help those guys be in some better positions to have success. Now we got to go out and execute the plan we have for the Colts."
Some of the changes will go better with Smith, an 11-year veteran, back on the field.
"It will be nice to have Harry back kind of helping with the communication," O'Connell said. "Especially when it gets noisy in there at home."
Etc.
- Tight end Irv Smith Jr., who has been on injured reserve since the end of October, was putting in a workout on the sideline during the portion of practice open to the news media. O'Connell said Smith was close to coming back. "I think he's done a really nice job attacking that rehab," O'Connell added.
- Vikings playoffs tickets went on sale Thursday; less than 6,000 single-game tickets will be available for any games played at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings have yet to clinch a playoff berth, but NFL rules stipulate that teams that are above .500 and within at least three games of the division lead start selling tickets no later than Dec. 15. Season-ticket holders have until Dec. 31 to claim their seats for the postseason. Any unclaimed seats will be released to the general public.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
