Vikings injury report: Sam Darnold a full go, Jordan Addison returns to practice

It’s still September, but Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell took the temperature of the team and decided they needed to cool down a little bit.

O’Connell scaled back Wednesday’s practice, which the team says was a walkthrough closed to reporters, in an effort to get healthy. The Vikings had 10 players on last week’s injury report before dismantling the Houston Texans 34-7 on Sunday. Three of those players — receiver Jordan Addison (ankle), linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (ankle) and edge rusher Dallas Turner (knee) — did not play.

Addison and Turner returned to the team on Wednesday. They took limited reps in the walkthrough. Pace, the starting inside linebacker, remains sidelined due to an ankle injury he suffered last week during practice.

O’Connell deferred to the injury report when asked about Addison, Turner and Pace. However, the coach later said the team will “hopefully get Jordan back out there this week.” Addison, the 2023 first-round pick, has not played since the third quarter of the season-opening win at the New York Giants.

Quarterback Sam Darnold was a full participant after suffering a left knee bruise against the Texans. He missed two snaps in Sunday’s win, but didn’t need to miss any practice reps on Wednesday.

Center Garrett Bradbury (ankle) and safety Jay Ward (knee) were held out of practice. Three other players had limited reps: tight end Josh Oliver (wrist), linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (knee) and defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (knee).

“The best reps we can possibly get are the previous Sunday, or the three collective Sundays we’ve had,” O’Connell said Wednesday. “We have demonstrated [physicality], can we now have a slightly different way of preparing? From a standpoint of making sure we get healthy in some spots as we work through the week. … I know we’re going to need to be close to 100% to have a chance to compete [in Green Bay].”

Packers: Green Bay listed eight starters, including quarterback Jordan Love (knee), as limited on Wednesday.

Love has missed the last two games with a reported MCL sprain suffered at the end of Green Bay’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers have won back-to-back starts by Malik Willis, the former Titans third-round pick who was traded to Green Bay on Aug. 26.

Five of Love’s teammates in the Packers offense also had limited reps: guard Elgton Jenkins (rest), tackle Zach Tom (quad), center Josh Myers (shoulder), receiver Jayden Reed (calf/quad) and tight end Tucker Kraft (shoulder); two Packers defenders, cornerback Jaire Alexander (quad) and defensive tackle Kenny Clark (toe), were also limited.