Early in Monday's matchup against the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings right tackle Brian O'Neill had to leave the game for a bit with a knee injury. O'Neill eventually returned and was able to play for the majority of the contest, but even after he came back, some were still concerned about what his status could be for the rest of the 2024 season.
After the Vikings got the win over the Bears on Monday, the veteran offensive lineman spoke to reporters and shared how his knee felt.
"Pretty good. It's probably going to be sore, but everything checked out okay, structurally good. So, be ready to roll. I don't think it's going to be anything."
Minnesota Vikings RT Brian O'Neill does not expect to miss any time after suffering a knee injury against the Chicago Bears
Thankfully, it sounds like O'Neill should be good to go for Minnesota's next game in Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks. It's great news since this outcome certainly isn't what many were thinking when he first exited the contest on Monday.
The Vikings already lost starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a season-ending injury earlier this year, so any sort of significant injury to O'Neill would have been a huge blow to the team's offense. But for now, there doesn't seem to be any reason to think that Minnesota won't have its starting right tackle on the field next Sunday against the Seahawks.
It also would have been a shame if O'Neill's season was cut short by an injury with how well he has been playing in 2024. Heading into Monday, he had the ninth-best PFF offensive grade out of 80 qualifying NFL offensive tackles, his pass-blocking efficiency ranked fourth out of 85 qualifying offensive tackles around the league, and he only allowed a total of four pressures in the Vikings' previous six games.
O'Neill has been voted to the Pro Bowl once in his NFL career (2021), but if he continues to perform at a very high level of for the remainder of the 2024 season, it won't be surprising if he earns a spot on the NFC's Pro Bowl roster for the second time in his career.