12-23-2024, 05:25 PM
Safety Harrison Smith “should be available” for the Vikings’ game Sunday against the Packers, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.
The defense could also have linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who will resume practicing after missing the required four games on injured reserve because of a hamstring strain.
The Vikings will monitor Pace with the hope he returns to play Green Bay on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (3:25 p.m., Ch. 9).
“We’ll see how he progresses,” O’Connell said. “Coming off a hamstring, you never quite know, so I don’t want to be absolute, but the plan is right now to open his [21-day practice] window, get him some work, and hopefully have him available.”
Smith missed his first game of the year because of a foot injury suffered in the Dec. 16 win over Chicago.
The Vikings will need to clear a roster spot before activating Pace, whom O’Connell said plays with the type of physicality — or “play style,” in coaching parlance — that coaches preach. The second-year linebacker is one of the Vikings’ most effective run defenders, which will be needed against both Packers and Lions offenses in the next two weeks.
“Ivan is the poster guy for that,” O’Connell said, “because he tackles, he flies around. When he blitzes, he’s as impactful as anybody. When you can really get him and [Blake Cashman] out there at the same time, they both can really play to their strengths. Cash is phenomenal in coverage, reading the quarterback, and when you can pair those guys together ... that’s when we’re at our best.”
startribune
The defense could also have linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who will resume practicing after missing the required four games on injured reserve because of a hamstring strain.
The Vikings will monitor Pace with the hope he returns to play Green Bay on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (3:25 p.m., Ch. 9).
“We’ll see how he progresses,” O’Connell said. “Coming off a hamstring, you never quite know, so I don’t want to be absolute, but the plan is right now to open his [21-day practice] window, get him some work, and hopefully have him available.”
Smith missed his first game of the year because of a foot injury suffered in the Dec. 16 win over Chicago.
The Vikings will need to clear a roster spot before activating Pace, whom O’Connell said plays with the type of physicality — or “play style,” in coaching parlance — that coaches preach. The second-year linebacker is one of the Vikings’ most effective run defenders, which will be needed against both Packers and Lions offenses in the next two weeks.
“Ivan is the poster guy for that,” O’Connell said, “because he tackles, he flies around. When he blitzes, he’s as impactful as anybody. When you can really get him and [Blake Cashman] out there at the same time, they both can really play to their strengths. Cash is phenomenal in coverage, reading the quarterback, and when you can pair those guys together ... that’s when we’re at our best.”
startribune
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