Vikings' Ezra Cleveland, 49ers' Deebo Samuel out for Monday Night Football

Vikings left guard Ezra Cleveland was ruled out for Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers because of the foot injury he sustained last week against the Bears, so Dalton Risner will start for the first time since he signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Vikings in late September.

Cleveland, who did not practice for the Vikings all week, will miss his first game since his rookie year in 2020.

"Ezra did everything he could, but we're going to allow that thing to get settled down and reassess him next week," coach Kevin O'Connell said.

Risner played the Vikings' final 10 offensive snaps against the Bears after Cleveland was injured. O'Connell said the fifth-year guard's experience showed up quickly with how easily he picked up the Vikings' scheme.

"Just a quieted, steady, productive performance without any kind of franticness or stress of, 'Hey, maybe I didn't get a rep on something.' That is a real beneficial thing to see," O'Connell said. "Ultimately, we knew at some point he'd be called upon, and that's why we went out and got him, to field overall great depth on that offensive line."

The 49ers will be without receiver Deebo Samuel, who will miss at least two games with a hairline fracture in his shoulder, coach Kyle Shanahan said. Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) did not practice all week and is listed as doubtful. Christian McCaffrey (oblique), the NFL's leading rusher, returned to practice in a limited capacity Saturday and is questionable for Monday. Starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) is also questionable.

Vikings defensive line coach Chris Rumph began a leave of absence from the team this week and won't coach on Monday night, O'Connell said.

Assistant defensive line coach Pat Hill will assume Rumph's responsibilities against the 49ers. Assistant head coach Mike Pettine, who's been working with the Vikings' outside linebackers with Mike Smith on a personal leave, will help on the defensive line, as will defensive assistant Imarjaye Albury.

"It's going to be all right," defensive lineman Harrison Phillips said. "The biggest thing is, we're all keeping Coach Rumph in our prayers, hoping that everything works out well for him because we really need him back — want him back. But, you know, luckily at this point of the season we've already had a lot of our technique, a lot of our game plan stuff kind of put in. So it's almost kind of cookie cutter. So I don't think it's affecting us super drastically."

O'Connell did not provide a timetable for Rumph's possible return, but said he did not foresee the Vikings adding to their coaching staff in his absence. "Personally, the hope is we get him back," O'Connell said, "but I really don't want to get into the timetable on that, mainly for him and the privacy of it."

Rumph is in his second season on the Vikings' coaching staff, having joined the team as part of O'Connell's initial set of hires before the 2022 season. "What his impact is in our building, and my relationship with him, means the world to me," O'Connell said.

O'Connell had no update on a possible return for Smith to the team's coaching staff, citing the privacy of Smith's leave. "I do know he's doing well, and he's always on my mind," O'Connell said. "He's another guy I care about incredibly much."

The Vikings listed cornerback Akayleb Evans as questionable for the 49ers game because of the oblique soreness that limited him in practice this week. O'Connell said he was "cautiously optimistic" that Evans would be able to play on Monday night.

The Vikings listed wide receiver Jalen Nailor as questionable for the game; they would need to activate Nailor from injured reserve after he missed their past four games because of a hamstring injury. "He's worked himself back into this, and it's just about being smart to make sure when we get him back out there, he can hit the ground running," O'Connell said.

• Vikings safety Josh Metellus was fined $11,167 for a hit on Bears quarterback Justin Fields in the first quarter. Metellus appeared to lead with his head on the play, which wasn't penalized.

Star Tribune writer Andrew Krammer contributed to this report.