After being a full participant in practice at the start of this week, starting guard Ed Ingram has been a limited participant for the past couple of days. It was enough for the Vikings to officially list Ingram as questionable with a hip injury heading into Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Asked for more details, head coach Kevin O’Connell said Ingram developed some soreness and the Vikings wanted to give him some extra time to recover heading into an important game. If Ingram is unable to play this week, backup guard Blake Brandel would slide into his spot on the offensive line.
“We were able to get Blake a good amount of reps” in practice, O’Connell said. “We’ve been getting Blake ready to go each week as kind of that next man up.”
Jefferson has no restrictions
Notably, star receiver Justin Jefferson did have an injury designation, though that should not come as a surprise given the way things have played out. He was a full participant in every practice this week and told reporters earlier this week that he’s back to 100 percent.
Will he be on a pitch count?
“We will take a look at it as far as the volume of snaps,” O’Connell said. “This is a guy that since I’ve been here has been pretty hard to keep off the field. I know he’s very, very excited. He’s put in great work this week, and we’ll kind of control it as we go.”
Even if he doesn’t play 100 percent of the snaps on offense, expect to see a lot of Jefferson when the Vikings take on the Raiders.
Hicks continues to progress
It’s hard to believe that veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks is already starting to get some work on the grass. He had emergency surgery less than a month ago after developing compartment syndrome in the lower part of his right leg. He currently is on injured reserve, and if things go according to plan, he is eligible to return as soon as next week.
“He’s working his way back,” O’Connell said. “I know Jordan is very, very confident that he’s going to be able to get back on the grass with the guys.”
Talking to reporters earlier this week, Hicks expressed similar confidence in being able to return sooner rather than later.
“He’s doing everything in his power to get back into his role defensively,” O’Connell said. “In the meantime, he’s having a huge impact on our team in other facets.”
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