The Minnesota Vikings head into their Week 8 Thursday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Rams relatively healthy. While the Rams have several notable players on their injury report, the Vikings will be close to full strength.
Below is their injury report after their final practice on Wednesday afternoon. Be sure to check the Vikings vs. Rams inactives for the very latest ahead of kickoff.
T.J. Hockenson, TE
Week 8 Status: OUT
While it seemed like Hockenson would make his season debut in Week 8, the Vikings decided to list him as inactive several hours before kickoff.
Hockenson has yet to play this season while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered last season. However, he returned to practice on Oct. 4 when the Vikings opened his 21-day practice window.
Hockenson was a limited participant in practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and he was initially listed as questionable for the Thursday Night Football showdown.
Final #MINvsLAR injury report
OUT: Blake Cashman
QUESTIONABLE: Akayleb Evans, T.J. Hockenson* and Dalton Risner*
*Returned to Practice – Currently within 21-day practice window pic.twitter.com/j9hOyq05Nj
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 23, 2024
The Vikings must add Hockenson to the 53-man roster by Oct. 25, so expect him to make his season debut in Week 9 when the Vikings face the Indianapolis Colts.
This is the second week in a row that Hockenson practiced in a limited capacity all week only to be inactive on game day.
Blake Cashman, LB
Week 8 Status: OUT
In addition to Hockenson, Cashman has also been ruled out ahead of the Thursday Night Football showdown is Cashman.
Cashman suffered a toe injury during the Vikings’ Week 5 win over the New York Jets, and it has now cost him two games. He was also sidelined for last week’s loss to the Detroit Lions.
This season, the 28-year-old has appeared in five games, recording 20 solo tackles, one sack, and five pass deflections.
Dalton Risner, G
Week 8 Status: QUESTIONABLE
After re-signing with the Vikings in May, Risner has yet to make his season debut.
He was placed on injured reserve in late August due to a back injury, but the team opened his practice window on Oct. 14, and now he’s officially listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
The 29-year-old won the Vikings’ starting left guard job last season, appearing in 15 games (including 11 starts).
Akayleb Evans, CB
Week 8 Status: QUESTIONABLE
Evans is officially questionable due to a hip injury.
The 25-year-old special-teams contributor has appeared in five games for the Vikings this season, but he was sidelined for last week’s contest against the Lions.
Evans was limited in practice throughout the week, so it remains to be seen if he’ll play tonight.
Aaron Jones Has No Injury Designation
During the Vikings’ Week 5 contest against the Jets, Jones tweaked his hamstring performing pregame warmups and then suffered a hip injury during the contest. As a result, Jones only had seven carries, while Ty Chandler rushed the ball 14 times.
Fortunately, the bye week came at the perfect time for Jones, and he played in the Vikings’ Week 7 matchup against the Lions. Now, he’s good to go against the Rams as well, and he doesn’t even have an injury designation for this game.
#Vikings RB Aaron Jones said his hamstring injury is “not so much of a concern” in the long run:
“I feel like I will be back to normal. I don’t feel like this is something I will continue to have to manage.”
🎥: @Vikings YouTube pic.twitter.com/CZKe4vSG2W
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) October 22, 2024
After he was limited in practice on Monday and Tuesday, Jones was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. Also, Jones recently told reporters that his hamstring gave him “no problems” in Week 7 and described it as “not so much of a concern” long-term.
