Well, where should the Minnesota Vikings start with their first injury report of the week before they face the 0-4 Cleveland Browns?
There were multiple updates on players who are facing injuries. Starting on offense, the Vikings are hopeful that quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be able to practice this week. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has already stated that if McCarthy does practice in London, he would be on the scout team, leaving the door wide open for Carson Wentz to get yet another start.
Fullback C.J. Ham had his 21-day practice window open, according to O'Connell. Ham is on injured reserve and is most likely to miss this week's game. The other major injury on offense was starting right tackle Brian O'Neill, who will be week-to-week with a sprained MCL injury. While he will avoid being placed on injured reserve, it seems more than likely he won't play on Sunday.
Turning over to the defense, outside linebacker Tyler Batty also had his 21-day practice window open as he is on IR with a knee injury. Similar to Ham, Batty is not expected to play against the Browns.
The top priority for the defense is outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who is dealing with a neck injury. O'Connell shared the tough news that Van Ginkel is not expected to return to practice this week, leaving his status to play unlikely to happen.
The Minnesota Vikings are dealing with a ton of injuries this season
Minnesota's biggest ones entering the Browns game were O'Neill and Van Ginkel. O'Neill has been the Vikings' most consistent offensive lineman this year, and after the team lost him in last week's 24-21 loss to the Steelers, the line struggled to hold up with 14 quarterback hits and six sacks allowed in the game.
Van Ginkel would have been nice to have back, especially with a lot of criticism being pointed towards Dallas Turner, who did not have a particularly strong game against the Steelers. Many are concerned that Turner has not been able to get the pressure on the quarterback as often as they would like.
McCarthy's injury is not a surprise, as his expected return date is the Week 7 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. He will need more time to heal and can use next week's bye to get healthier.
Not many Minnesota Vikings fans are too concerned about going into the Browns game since the team is struggling, but there is still a reason to keep up to date on when their injured players are coming back. It's important to try to be as healthy as possible for the Eagles matchup in two weeks.