Final Vikings injury report: Van Ginkel, Darrisaw, Okudah out vs. Falcons

The Vikings have ruled out three players, including two key starters, for Sunday night's game against the Falcons, head coach Kevin O'Connell announced on Friday afternoon.

Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, left tackle Christian Darrisaw, and cornerback Jeff Okudah will all miss the game. Safety Harrison Smith is officially questionable, so we may not learn his status until inactives come out 90 minutes before the game.

Van Ginkel and Okudah both went into the concussion protocol after Monday's game and were unable to clear it in time to play this week.

"They're both doing well and progressing through the protocol, but the protocol's in place for a reason," O'Connell said. "Anticipate those guys continuing on that upward trajectory into early next week."

Van Ginkel is a big loss. He was arguably the Vikings' best defensive player last season, earning second team All-Pro honors after recording 11.5 sacks, 18 total TFLs, and two pick-sixes.

But the Vikings will feel like they're fairly well equipped to survive AVG's absence. They've still got Jonathan Greenard as a star at OLB, and the other starter will be ascending second-year player Dallas Turner, who played well in 43 percent of the snaps in the opener. Bo Richter, Chaz Chambliss, and Gabriel Murphy are candidates to see defensive snaps as depth options at that position.

Without Okudah, their No. 3 cornerback, the Vikings will likely turn to either Dwight McGlothern or Fabian Moreau for a handful of snaps. Okudah only played 16 snaps in Week 1.

Darrisaw's return from last October's major knee injury will wait until at least Week 3. Unlike last week, when he was deemed questionable, he's already been ruled out two days ahead of this game. However, he did not suffer any sort of setback, O'Connell said. They'll continue to evaluate him on a day-to-day basis moving forward.

Justin Skule, who struggled in Chicago, will likely make a second straight start at left tackle.

If Smith — who is recovering from an illness — can't play, Jay Ward would be in line for more snaps at safety alongside Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson.

Some good news for the Vikings is that center Ryan Kelly and tight end Josh Oliver, who missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, do not have injury designations. Neither do a few players who were limited on Thursday, including cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and return specialist Myles Price.

If you missed it, Blake Cashman and Ty Chandler were placed on IR on Thursday.

For the Falcons, wide receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney are off the injury report and will play. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. and DB Billy Bowman Jr. are questionable. A few backup players were ruled out.

It's a 7:20 p.m. game on NBC this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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