The Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to travel to Seattle to attempt their first road victory in Lumen Field in nearly two decades. Legendary safety Harrison Smith has never won in that place despite playing there in roughly every other season of his career.
1 Vikings Defensive Starter Is In and Another Out
Smith suffered a foot injury in Monday’s win over the Chicago Bears. He logged a pair of limited practices and missed Thursday’s practice entirely. The good news, however, is that a player as experienced as the 35-year-old doesn’t need extensive preparation time to be ready for kickoff. Expect his status to be updated ahead of the game.
Another defensive starter will not make the trip. Defensive tackle Jalen Redmond was recently promoted to the starting line, but he is forced to sit out Sunday’s matchup because of a concussion suffered in the final play of Monday’s win. He couldn’t clear concussion protocol in time.
On Thursday, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reported on X, “There is optimism that DL Jalen Redmond (concussion) won’t be out an extended period. But, looking like he’ll be missed vs. Seattle Sunday. Unfortunate that the injury occurred on the final play Monday in a collision with Homer. He’s been so good the last few weeks.”
Indeed, Redmond had been impressive prior to his injury, becoming a fixture on the defensive line and a true playmaker for Brian Flores. He even made the jump into the starting lineup in consecutive weeks.
That streak will break on Sunday. He then will have a whole week to return to the field for the home game against the Green Bay Packers.
In his absence, there will be more snaps available for Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard, who both have been solid in 2024. Their veteran presence is not a bad thing at all, but they might not quite have Redmond’s surprising explosiveness.
But there are some good news, too. Starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore is off the injury report after missing the last two games due to a hamstring injury.
The timing is impeccable because the guy who stepped up during his absence, Fabian Moreau, has been ruled out because of a hip injury.
Gilmore was signed during training camp, but the late arrival immediately entered the starting unit, forming the CB trio with Byron Murphy and Shaq Griffin. At the age of 34, Gilmore is well past his prime, but he is still a serviceable defensive back, although he is no longer at the level of a Defensive Player of the Year, a title he was awarded in 2019.
Fullback C.J. Ham is questionable with an ankle injury. His absence would hurt the special teams and eliminate some plays from the playbook, but likely lead to more playing time for tight ends Johnny Mundt and Josh Oliver.
The biggest story out of Seattle was Geno Smith’s knee issue, which forced him to watch roughly half the game against the Packers from the bench. He is off the injury report and good to go, just like running backs Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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