Bradbury, Lynch Practice in Full on Thursday
On Wednesday, Garrett Bradbury made his much-anticipated return to the practice field following a back injury that had kept him sidelined for five weeks. Defensive lineman James Lynch also practiced on Wednesday after missing each of the Vikings previous two games with a shoulder injury.
On Thursday, we got even better news as it turns out both Bradbury and Lynch were able to practice in full ahead of the Vikings Wild Card game against the New York Giants. Here is the full injury report for the Vikings Thursday practice:
- LB Brian Asamoah- Full (knee)
- C Garrett Bradbury- Full (back)
- CB Cam Dantzler- DNP (ankle/personal)
- DL James Lynch- Full (shoulder)
- S Harrison Smith- Limited (knee)
In addition to both Bradbury and Lynch practicing in full, rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah practiced in full after being limited on Wednesday. He’s become a crucial piece to the Vikings defense down the stretch of the season, and his presence should be part of the game plan on Sunday against New York.
Meanwhile, the statuses of Cam Dantzler and Harrison Smith remain unchanged. Dantzler missed Thursday’s practice due to a personal matter, and Smith remains limited with his knee injury.
Dantzler hasn’t played in the past couple weeks, in part because of Duke Shelley’s emergence as a lockdown CB on the outside. However, he’s also been dealing with an ankle injury that has lingered past his stint on IR earlier in the season.
As for Smith, he was a last-minute omission from the Vikings Week 18 game against the Chicago Bears because of some knee soreness that popped up on Friday. A week later, he remains a limited participant in practice, but there is no indication that he will miss the Wild Card game against the Giants. Hopefully, keeping him limited is solely a precautionary move, and the veteran safety will be able to go on Sunday.
On the other side, the New York Giants added two players to their Thursday injury report, but no one missed practice this afternoon. Here is the full report for the Giants:
- CB Adoree’ Jackson- Limited (knee)
- WR Marchus Johnson- Limited (knee)
- OT Evan Neal- Limited (ankle)
- OLB Azeez Ojulari- Limited (ankle)
- S Jason Pinnock- Limited (shoulder)
- DL Leonard Williams- Limited (neck)
- C Jon Feliciano- Full (back)
- S Xavier McKinney- Full (fingers)
The two additions to the injury report are the limited statuses of offensive tackle Evan Neal and wide receiver Marcus Johnson. Neal has been a starter at right tackle for New York all season after being selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 Draft.
Meanwhile, Johnson has been a depth receiver for most of the season, catching 9 passes for 99 yards. He started in each of the final three games for the Giants this regular season, and in Week 18, he was a featured part of the offense when many of the backups played. Against the Eagles, he caught 3 of his 6 targets for 36 yards.
Each of the Giants and Vikings will release one more injury report on Friday. Then, the two teams will square off on Sunday, January 15th at 3:25 PM CST inside U.S. Bank Stadium.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.