Inside The Vikings

Vikings reveal inactive players for Bengals game: Darrisaw, Smith active

The Vikings are getting some key reinforcements for Sunday's game against Cincinnati.
Will Ragatz|
Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A general view of U.S. Bank Stadium before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Sep 21, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A general view of U.S. Bank Stadium before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are getting some reinforcements for today's game against the Bengals.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee), safety Harrison Smith (illness), and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion) are all officially active. All three were listed as questionable in the final injury report on Friday.

Darrisaw and Smith will be making their season debuts. There's been reporting that both will "rotate on and off" the field against Cincinnati. That's easy and not unusual to do at a position like safety, but you don't see it very often with offensive linemen. It'll be very interesting to track how much Darrisaw plays — and how often either Walter Rouse or Blake Brandel rotate in at LT, if at all.

Van Ginkel and cornerback Jeff Okudah return after missing one week in the concussion protocol. However, starting center Ryan Kelly and backup tackle Justin Skule are in the protocol and are inactive for today's game.

Here's the full list of Vikings inactives:

  • QB J.J. McCarthy
  • QB Desmond Ridder (emergency No. 3 QB)
  • C Ryan Kelly
  • LT Justin Skule
  • WR Tim Jones
  • TE Nick Vannett
  • DT Elijah Williams

Rookie Max Brosmer will be the Vikings' backup QB behind Carson Wentz, who makes his first start for Minnesota. McCarthy could return as early as Week 5 in London, according to reports, though that's far from a sure thing.

Running back Cam Akers and interior offensive lineman Henry Byrd were elevated from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday.

Here are the Bengals' inactives:

  • CB Cam Taylor-Britt
  • DE Shemar Stewart
  • DT McKinnley Jackson
  • TE Tanner Hudson
  • WR Jermaine Burton

Taylor-Britt and Stewart are defensive starters.

Kickoff between the Vikings and Bengals is at 12 p.m. CT on CBS.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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