Sunday’s Star Has a Concerning Injury Status
The Minnesota Vikings celebrated a remarkable 28-6 win over the New York Giants in the first three-score win since the 2019 season when Ifeadi Odenigbo returned a Philip Rivers fumble for a touchdown. Brian Flores’ defensive unit dominated, holding the offense to only six points despite C.J. Ham’s fumble in field goal range.
Sunday’s Star Has a Concerning Injury Status
Amongst those standout defenders were some new additions, especially former Dolphins draft choice Andrew Van Ginkel, who exploded onto the scene.
Van Ginkel recorded a sack and four tackles. In an already excellent performance, he also made the signature play of the day, snatching an attempted screen pass from Daniel Jones out of the air and returning, just like Odenigbo, the takeaway for a touchdown.
He was held out of the game late when the result had been cemented. Head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about it after the game: “Van Ginkel, we just kind of held him out there late, just a precautionary thing, but he should be fine.”
So why is this news? Well, three days later, on Wednesday, Van Ginkel missed practice. He was listed as DNP (did not participate) on the first injury report of the week. That by itself is still not really concerning, as players often get Wednesdays off when there’s a minor issue.
However, the next element of the injury report is why some nervousness could occur. Van Ginkel was listed with a foot problem.
The veteran suffered a lisfranc injury late in the 2023 season, requiring surgery and subsequently missing all of the offseason program.
He slowly ramped up his workload in training camp but was held out of the preseason games. At this point, it’s pure speculation. It might be an entirely different and minor issue.
In his first game with his new team, Van Ginkel was used as envisioned as a Swiss army knife in the front seven. While fellow newcomer Jonathan Greenard is almost exclusively used as a pass-rusher, Van Ginkel occasionally drops into coverage and sometimes even lines up as an off-ball linebacker, although Flores didn’t use that option frequently in Week 1.
Dallas Turner, the first-round rookie, would get extra opportunities, but Van Ginkel’s absence would be a big blow for the defense. More clarity should arise in the next few days.
Also listed on the injury report was wideout Jordan Addison. The sophomore didn’t practice after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday. His status for the matchup with the 49ers is in question. Jalen Nailor was listed with an ankle injury but logged a full practice, and Garrett Bradbury was limited with a knee injury. The center finished Sunday’s game.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Focus, Over the Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt