Neither Gilmore nor Jones, who missed Sunday’s win against the Falcons, were seen by reporters on Wednesday during a rare December padded practice.
Vikings edge rusher Pat Jones II (91) sustained a knee injury against the Cardinals on Dec. 1 and missed Sunday’s game against the Falcons. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The Vikings held a rare December padded practice on Wednesday — NFL teams are allowed just three padded practices in the final six weeks of the regular season — in preparation for Monday night’s rematch against the Chicago Bears.
Coach Kevin O’Connell held out a handful of players, including cornerback Stephon Gilmore and edge rusher Pat Jones II, who were not at the portion of Wednesday’s session open to reporters. Gilmore (hamstring) and Jones (knee) missed Sunday’s win over the Falcons.
“We will see what they are able to do as we get toward Friday or Saturday, and just be smart about getting them out there if we can,” O’Connell said. “We’d love to have both guys. If not, we know we have guys that can step up.”
The Vikings also did not practice with edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, who has been on the injury report with a thigh issue. But Van Ginkel, who had his practice reps limited last week before playing a full game, said he was getting extra rest entering a lighter work day scheduled for players on Thursday. O’Connell chose to use one of the Vikings’ three late-season padded practices this week.
“With the extra day knowing that we can get some good physical work here,” O’Connell said, “and still have a good amount of time to turn these guys over and slow down the pace [Thursday]. Then, have two good full-speed days on Friday and Saturday.”
One reinforcement expected to return this season is defensive tackle Taki Taimani, the undrafted rookie who made the team as a standout run stopper. Taimani has been on injured reserve since early November with an ankle injury suffered in practice, but O’Connell said Wednesday that the team expects him back at some point.
“Continues to work through the later parts of his rehab,” O’Connell said, “just making sure he is 100 percent healthy when we need to call upon him.”
Redmond has ‘hot hand’ on D-line
A subtle change took place along the defensive line against Atlanta when veteran defensive tackle Jerry Tillery was sent to the bench for second-year defensive tackle Jalen Redmond, who got his first NFL start and led the Vikings with two run stuffs while playing a career-high 39 snaps. Redmond went undrafted in 2023 out of Oklahoma and, before joining the Vikings in June, played for the UFL’s Arlington Renegades.
“He’s been playing well,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said, “and I’m a believer if you go with the hot hand, and you’ve been playing well and practicing well and you’re kind of moving in that direction, I think he earned himself a few more snaps. He did well in those snaps, so he’ll likely get some more snaps. And that’s just kind of, I think, a fair and right way to do things.”
Darnold named NFC player of week
Quarterback Sam Darnold was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after throwing for a career-high 347 yards and five touchdowns against the Falcons. He’s the first Vikings offensive player to earn the honor this season, and the first Vikings quarterback since Josh Dobbs’ Week 9 win at Atlanta last season.
A Vikings quarterback has been named player of the week in each season under O’Connell, including Kirk Cousins for the 2022 comeback against the Colts. Darnold was previously named NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September.
Vikings see FG penalty ‘trend’
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels knew what was up when the Falcons were flagged for a rare defensive holding during kicker Will Reichard’s 39-yard field goal try last week. The penalty gave the Vikings a new set of downs, which they converted into one of their six touchdowns, and it was a focus of referee Alex Kemp’s crew going into the game.
“There’s been a trend going on,” Daniels said. “Guys are swiping the down hand of linemen that’s causing them to fall, and I guess officials are starting to consider that to be technically holding on the field goal block team. They came to me prior to the game notifying me that they’re looking for that.”
Osborn lands in Washington
Former Vikings receiver K.J. Osborn was claimed off waivers by the Washington Commanders on Wednesday, a day after he was waived by the New England Patriots. Osborn, the former Vikings standout, agreed to a settlement with the Patriots over his remaining guaranteed money to leave New England after just seven catches in seven games this season.
