Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell left the status of kicker Will Reichard, who remains on injured reserve for now, as questionable for Sunday.
Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore will miss his first game of the season Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The Vikings will officially be without cornerback Stephon Gilmore for Sunday’s noon game against the Falcons.
Gilmore left the Vikings’ win over the Cardinals with a left hamstring strain and has not practiced this week. The Vikings will have Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin and Fabian Moreau as their top cornerback options with Gilmore absent.
“It was always something that fingers crossed just in case maybe if he can get a limited day, he’d possibly be available, but he’s right on schedule where we probably thought he would be, and we’ll see what next week looks like,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Friday of Gilmore.
Kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola are questionable. Both returned to practice this week after missing four games on injured reserve and were full participants all three days of practice. They would need to be activated from injured reserve to play Sunday.
O’Connell said decisions on Reichard and DePaola will be made later Friday, as corresponding roster moves have to be made by Saturday afternoon to return them to the active roster.
The Vikings already released long snapper Jake McQuaide, DePaola’s replacement; kicker Parker Romo is preparing for the same fate.
Four other players were left questionable by O’Connell after Friday’s practice: outside linebacker Patrick Jones II (knee), defensive lineman Harrison Phillips (back), offensive guard Dalton Risner (back) and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (thigh).
Jones, Phillips and Van Ginkel were all limited in Friday’s practice.
O’Connell said he was unsure if Risner’s back issue was related to one he had earlier in the season. Risner, who was a full participant Friday, told the Minnesota Star Tribune he expects to play.
Safety Jay Ward, who missed the Arizona game with an elbow injury, was a full participant Friday and will be available against the Falcons. Tight end Josh Oliver, who has missed the last two games, will also be back after being a full participant in practice all week.
Jefferson stockpiling jokes
Asked about the biggest thing he learned from former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who visits Sunday with the Falcons, wide receiver Justin Jefferson had a surprising answer.
“There’s a lot of jokes I learned from Kirk,” Jefferson said Thursday. “It’s always great to have a quarterback you can joke around with and be yourself with.”
He also hit on the expected — work ethic being what it all boiled down to — but the jokes became a sticking point.
Jefferson alluded to the jokes being for generations older than him but said that he’s holding on to them for potential use when his delivery will be more believable.
“I want it to be later on when I get older and I can come on here and tell y’all the joke, and then it’s really gonna be funny,” Jefferson said. “Me telling you all right now, it’s not gonna be funny. Kirk’s gotta tell you all himself.”
Vikings add tackle to practice squad
The Vikings signed offensive tackle Coy Cronk to their practice squad Friday. This is his second stint with the team, having also spent time on the practice squad in 2023.
Cronk’s most recent stop was with the Falcons practice squad in October. He’s also been with the Jaguars; he was elevated to their active roster five times during the 2022 season and appeared in all five games.
Cronk joined the league as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Packers in 2021.
The Vikings also placed offensive guard Henry Byrd on the practice squad injured reserve.
For sale: Van Ginkel shirts
T-shirts featuring edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel will be for sale Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. All proceeds will go toward Van Ginkel’s flood relief in his hometown, Rock Valley, Iowa, where recovery efforts are ongoing after severe storms in June. The Vikings announced that one of their sponsors, Minnesota-based Land O’Lakes, will match the proceeds in a donation.
Van Ginkel’s wife, Sam, had a message for fans on Friday morning.
“Shirts are only available in person at the stadium on Sunday,” Sam Van Ginkel wrote on social media. “Please do not fall for all of the links being posted on here. They are scams. Until you see something from us or the Vikings, do NOT buy online.”