There has been some concern about Minnesota Vikings Andrew Van Ginkel over the last few weeks regarding his mysterious injury.
Van Ginkel had not been practicing since August 7 until Wednesday, when he finally hit the practice field. That was the first encouraging sign that things were looking good for his status against the Chicago Bears in Week 1.
Thursday's injury report from the Vikings was even better news as Van Grinkel was a full participant in practice. Another great sign for him that he could be in line to play on Monday
The #Vikings first injury report of the 2025 season pic.twitter.com/mZmPqZzE3y
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 4, 2025
Andrew Van Ginkel returning just in time to help the Minnesota Vikings face the Chicago Bears
KSTP's Darren Wolfson eased the fan base's minds with his recent update on SKOR North's "Purple Daily" show, as he believes Van Ginkel will be ready to go for the Bears game.
“Just watching him move during Wednesday’s practice that was open to us, he’s good to go. I have zero worry about Andrew Van Ginkel heading into Monday.”
After joining the team in 2024 on a two-year, $20 million contract, Van Ginkel made an explosive impact, delivering a career year following five years with the Miami Dolphins.
He finished last season with 79 tackles, 19 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, six pass deflections, two interceptions, two pick-sixes, and one forced fumble. That was good enough to land him in the Pro Bowl and on the All-Pro Second Team.
This offseason, the Vikings rewarded Van Ginkel with a brand new one-year, $23 million contract extension that will keep him on the team through the 2026 NFL season.
Van Ginkel is an integral part of Minnesota's defense as the combination of him and Jonathan Greenard makes it one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL.
They are going up against a Bears offensive line that improved their interior linemen, but their tackles, Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones, are back. According to PFF, Wright and Jones were both ranked outside the top 15 in the NFL last year in overall grade among 140 offensive tackles.
Last year, the Vikings had a lot of success pressuring Bears quarterback Caleb Williams with five sacks between the two wins against Chicago. The Bears also scored just 39 points in those two matchups.
While the Bears' offensive line is retooled, the Vikings' edge rushers are the same, and Van Ginkel and Greenard are ready to collect some more sacks on the stat line against Chicago.