Wednesday always means the first injury reports for the week around the National Football League. . .well, for the teams that are playing on Sunday, anyway. . .and today is no different as the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings have both released their first injury reports for Sunday’s contest at U.S. Bank Stadium. Both sides have some significant news to report, so let’s take a look at both.
As we generally do, we’ll start with the visiting team.
Cleveland Browns
Did Not Participate
- CB Greg Newsom II (calf, already declared out for Sunday)
- C J.C. Tretter (knee)
- OT Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle)
Limited Participation
- WR Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder)
- OT Jack Conklin (knee)
- OT Chris Hubbard (triceps)
- LB Sione Takitaki (hamstring)
Full Participation
No players listed
On the initial injury report, 60% of the starting offensive line for the Browns was limited or worse for the Browns’ first practice of the week. That’s something that will merit keeping an eye on as the week progresses. OBJ made his return last week from a knee injury he sustained last season and already has a new ailment to deal with. Newsom was the Browns’ top pick in this past year’s draft and the Browns have already said that he won’t be suiting up on Sunday, which is a significant blow to their secondary.
Now, on to the home team.
Minnesota Vikings
Did Not Participate
- TE Tyler Conklin (glute/elbow)
- WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette (toe)
Limited Participation
- LB Anthony Barr (knee)
- CB Kris Boyd (hamstring)
- RB Dalvin Cook (ankle)
- CB Harrison Hand (hamstring)
- LB Eric Kendricks (hip)
- S Xavier Woods (hamstring)
Full Participation
- OT Christian Darrisaw (groin)
- K Greg Joseph (right hip)
This report does not include those players who got “veteran rest” days on Wednesday. That list consists of Rashod Hill, Patrick Peterson, Harrison Smith, and Adam Thielen. Cornerback Mackensie Alexander also missed practice with an undisclosed personal issue.
First off, your eyes do not deceive you. . .for the first time in his NFL career, Christian Darrisaw has seen full participation in a regular-season practice. I’m not sure if that means he’s going to be taking over for Hill this week or anything, but it is a positive sign that he’s getting closer. Dalvin Cook is back to practicing after not practicing or playing last week, which is also a pretty good sign. The Vikings look to have a lot of “nagging” types of injuries, particularly hamstring issues. Hopefully those things will resolve themselves rather than continuing to linger for the rest of the season.
Those are your initial injury reports for the Browns and Vikings for Week 4, folks. We’ll continue monitoring everyone’s status as the week progresses.
