Vikings-Bears Final Injury Report: Kendricks and Rudolph Out, Six Players Questionable
The Vikings will once again be without arguably their best defensive player this week, as All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks will miss his third straight game with a calf injury. Kendricks aggravated the injury in pregame warmups before the Jaguars game a couple weeks ago and hasn't been able to practice since.
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This has become a very unfortunate injury for the Vikings and their playoff hopes. They were lucky to hold on and beat Jacksonville in overtime without Kendricks, and they sorely missed him against the Buccaneers last Sunday. Now they're heading into a must-win game against the Bears without their star LB. Given that they were already missing defensive stalwarts Danielle Hunter and Anthony Barr, losing Kendricks has been a massive blow for Mike Zimmer's defense.
Todd Davis has stepped in and played adequately, but he represents a major dropoff in ability and production from Kendricks, as most players would.
"It's definitely been a tough year for me," said Davis, who came over from the Broncos in September. "I've had my struggles, had my ups and downs, but I'm going to continue to keep rolling, continue to keep working hard. Being able to start these last two weeks has been a blessing, so I'm going to continue to work hard and start for as long as the team needs me, and try to do my best."
Given that he hasn't practiced in two weeks, it would seem that there's a decent chance Kendricks won't be able to return for next Friday's game against the Saints on Christmas Day.
Also out for the Vikings is tight end Kyle Rudolph, who will miss his second straight contest with a foot injury. Minnesota will continue to rely on Irv Smith Jr. – who had a big game in Tampa and is getting closer to full health – and Tyler Conklin at the TE position.
Lastly, backup running back Alexander Mattison is listed as questionable. He has missed two straight games since getting his appendix removed a couple weeks ago, but was able to return to practice this week."It’s a very unique [situation]," Zimmer said. "He’s a tough kid and he feels great, so we’ll see."
If Mattison returns to action, he will jump in front of Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah for a handful of snaps at running back behind Dalvin Cook. C.J. Ham and Armon Watts began the week by missing practice on Wednesday, but both got back out there for the past two days and are good to go.
The Bears are also dealing with several players at less than full strength. Cornerback Buster Skrine is their only player out for Sunday's game, but the big news is that five Chicago players are listed as questionable, including superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack and two other starters. Mack is one of the best players in the NFL and seems to frequently play well against the Vikings, with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception, and 25 QB pressures in five career games against Minnesota.
"He’s the best there is," Brian O'Neill said this week. "In my mind, he’s the best pass rusher that I get to face every year. It’s an incredible challenge for our group, an incredible opportunity to try to go beat the best."
Also questionable for the Bears: cornerback Jaylon Johnson, tight end Jimmy Graham, safety Deon Bush, and linebacker James Vaughters. The biggest loss in that group would be Johnson, the rookie starting CB who has had a strong season. If he can't play, the Bears would be forced to go with 2020 fifth-rounder Kindle Vildor or 2019 sixth-rounder Duke Shelley as their No. 2 corner along with Kyle Fuller. That would be a matchup Gary Kubiak and the Vikings would certainly attempt to exploit.
The Bears will have star defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who was a big reason why Dalvin Cook was limited to one of his least productive games of the year in Chicago a month ago. When Hicks left that game, things got a lot easier for Cook.
Keep an eye on the status of Mattison, Mack, and Johnson when the inactives are announced at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.
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