The Minnesota Vikings will be without Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith for Sunday night’s primetime matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, adding to the bevy of veteran talent that will miss Week 2.
Smith is coming back from a “personal health issue” that has been a mystery to those outside the Vikings organization. He missed almost a month of training camp before the start of the season and is still ramping up to get into football shape.
“I’m just going to get out there and see how much I can handle and go from there. I’ve already moved around. Moving around well. It’s just volume, conditioning, stuff like that,” Smith said this week.
Minnesota is without four more starters entering the game with Pro Bowl outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion), left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee), inside linebacker Blake Cashman (hamstring) and kick returner Ty Chandler (knee) out against the Falcons.
Cashman and Chandler were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week and will be required to miss four games before being activated to the 53-man roster.
Former Detroit Lions first-round pick Jeff Okudah is also in concussion protocol and will be out after playing 16 defensive snaps in the season opener. Third quarterback Max Brosmer and backups Joe Huber and Austin Keys were also ruled out.
Minnesota activated veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau and second-year linebacker Gabe Murphy from the practice squad to backfill the gameday roster.
The Falcons’ inactives are listed below, most notably kicker Younghoe Koo.
Koo was benched after he missed a game-tying field goal as time expired in a Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Former Vikings kicker John Parker Romo was activated to the gameday roster in Koo’s place.
The Vikings and Falcons kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will air on NBC and can be streamed on Peacock and Fubo.
J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. Duel Overshadows Kirk Cousins in Vikings-Falcons Primetime Matchup
Last year, fans did not get a chance to see quarterback J.J. McCarthy face off with the man he replaced in Minnesota, Kirk Cousins.
McCarthy’s rookie season was shut down after a meniscus tear in the preseason. Instead, Sam Darnold threw for a career-high 347 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Atlanta in Week 14 of the 2024 season.
Cousins was eventually benched in Week 16, which paved way for 2024 first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. to take over as the Falcons’ starting quarterback.
Penix has maintained a hold on his job this year, setting up a historic matchup with McCarthy.
The two first-rounders faced off in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship and are playing in the first “Sunday Night Football” matchup between two quarterbacks with five or fewer starts.
Vikings Remain 3.5-Point Favorites Over Falcons on ‘Sunday Night Football’
Despite the slew of injuries that have hit the Vikings after one week, Minnesota is still favored by 3.5 points by DraftKings Sportsbook.
The main spread has not changed in light of the numerous injury reports throughout the week.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings Make Final Call on Key Pro Bowler: Week 2 Inactives appeared first on Heavy Sports.