Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore is questionable for Monday night’s game against the Bears.
Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore returns to practice, questionable for ‘Monday Night Football’
Gilmore was limited in Saturday’s practice, his first day back since a Dec. 1 hamstring strain.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 14, 2024 at 8:45PM
Gilmore, who has been out because of a hamstring strain since Dec. 1, returned to practice Saturday but was limited.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said the decision on whether Gilmore plays will “most likely” come down to pregame warmups, but the team will evaluate him over remaining work Saturday and on Sunday.
O’Connell said Gilmore was “moving around really well” in his limited reps in Saturday’s practice.
Running back Aaron Jones, outside linebacker Pat Jones II and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who had been limited the first day of practice this week, enter Monday with no game designation. They practiced fully on Friday and Saturday.
O’Connell also provided an update on linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who’s been on injured reserve since Nov. 26 with a hamstring strain suffered the last time the Vikings faced the Bears this season.
“He’s doing really well,” O’Connell said. “Probably ahead of the timeline we maybe initially thought. He’ll be ready to roll when he’s available to come off.”
Pace will be eligible to return for the Vikings' Dec. 29 game against the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Background dancer
Outside linebacker Bo Richter has been called out twice by O’Connell during team meetings dissecting tape of teammates' celebrations: Once for dancing, once not for dancing.
In the background of cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.’s “Stomp the Yard”-inspired celebration against the Falcons, Richter can be seen in the background stepping from side to side and seemingly laughing.
"He didn’t know what to do in the moment and kind of went through the full spectrum of decision making," O’Connell said Monday. “Very similar to what I do at the edge of a dance floor at a wedding trying to figure out if I’m going to truly commit to this or not.”
Said Richter: “I’ve gotta figure out what to do to not show up on the tape.”
The viral celebrations of Murphy and safeties Josh Metellus and Camryn Bynum continued to be the talk of TCO Performance Center throughout the week, with coaches and teammates lauding their creativity and the joy the practice brings to the team.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores said Tuesday that Metellus and Bynum kept their celebration — the dance off routine from “White Chicks” — a secret from the rest of the team until it happened.
Neither he, O’Connell nor special teams coordinator Matt Daniels correctly identified the dance when they saw it. Daniels thought it was from “You Got Served.”
“I love the creativity,” Flores said. “We talk about we can’t play this game at a high level unless you have peace. I think you get that from your preparation. And once you get that, you can have some joy playing this game. I like seeing that out of our group.”
Daniels lobbied for TV crews to keep their cameras on the Vikings defense longer after big plays, as he said he hadn’t found a good video of the Superman celebration Murphy had earlier in the season.
Winter Whiteout
The Vikings will wear their alternate, all-white “Winter Warrior” uniforms as the team holds its third annual “Winter Whiteout” at Monday night’s game against the Bears.
The uniforms will include white helmets for the first time in team history. The Viking horn is outlined with a metallic gray that is “inspired by the metal striping found on ancient Vikings helmets,” according to a news release.
Fans are encouraged to wear white for the game and will receive white rally towels.
Quarterback Sam Darnold and the Vikings offense is firing on all cylinders, winning six in a row ahead of a "Monday Night Football" matchup against Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. Read Ben Goessling's preview and prediction.
