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Stephon Gilmore Injury Update: Minnesota Vikings CB1 Could Play vs Bears

Posted on December 15, 2024 - 9:20 am by

The Minnesota Vikings are -7 point favorites against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, with a chance to improve to 12-2 on the 2024 NFL season. To do that, they will have to slow No. 1 overall draft pick, Caleb Williams. No doubt, having their No. 1 cornerback, Stephon Gilmore, active and available would certainly help that cause.

Thankfully, two of Minnesota’s pass rushers, who were listed as “limited” on the Minnesota Vikings injury report, earlier this week — Andrew Van Ginkel and Pat Jones II — practiced in full Friday and Saturday. Even better, neither appeared on the final Vikings injury report for week 15, which just released this afternoon.

Stephon Gilmore upgraded to “Questionable” on final week 15 Minnesota Vikings injury report

Want more good news from today’s Vikings injury report? In arguably the most positive injury development of this week, the Vikings listed their best cornerback, Stephon Gilmore, as “Questionable” on Saturday’s final week 15 injury report. This, after Gilmore appeared live on the practice field for the first time in weeks.



Since signing with Minnesota, just before the start of the 2024 season, the 34-year-old veteran CB has taken over as the defense’s CB1. That was until he suffered a hamstring injury a couple of weeks ago vs the Arizona Cardinals. He hasn’t practiced or played in a game since.

On the season, Stephon Gilmore has collected 47 tackles (32 solo), to go with his 1 interception and 7 passes defended. According to PFF, Gilmore is having one of the more difficult seasons of his 13-year NFL career. His 66.6 defensive grade and 62.7 coverage grade are both his lowest since 2020, the COVID season.



But Gilmore was getting better, as he got more comfortable with Brian Flores’ scheme. In weeks 12 (@ Bears) and 13 (vs Cardinals), right before he was injured, the veteran cornerback posted back to back defensive grades of 75.0 and 79.9, respectively.

Those overall grades — along with his 74.7 + 80.6 coverage grades in those same games — made for his best performances of the season, since week 1, according to PFF. No matter how well he is playing, compared to the standard the former DPOY has set for himself, he is the Vikings’ best option at CB1.

Gilmore should help stunt growth of Caleb Williams… at least for one week

Back to Chicago’s No. 1 overall QB, Caleb Williams, whose best performance of an up and down rookie season may have come in week 12, when he threw for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns on 32-of-47 (68%) passing vs the Vikings, when these two division rivals met for the first of two annual matchups this season.

How does Minnesota plan to slow Williams, and a Chicago offense loaded with passing weapons that just about every quarterback in the league envies, outside of Sam Darnold?

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

If he is healthy enough to be effective, adding Stephon Gilmore back into the secondary would be a big boost for a Minnesota Vikings defense that needs all of its weapons on the field, in order to keep the Chicago Bears offense down. The last thing they want to do is give this uber-talented group any confidence.



But most of all, the purple will have to apply controlled pressure to USC’s starchild, who is capable of very much capable of picking a defense apart from the pocket, if you let him. But the pass rush can’t be reckless. If gap assignments are irresponsibly blown, we’ve seen how effective Williams can be when he leaves the pocket, too.