The Detroit Lions have finished the week of practice, the stage is set and there’s one last thing to do. That’s go into Minnesota and play the biggest game of the year. The Lions can clinch their first divsion title since 1993, clinch a playoff berth and move to the second seed with a win on Sunday. Today we learned who they’ll have to do it without.
Here’s the Lions and Vikings game designations for the week:
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson: OUT
- Jerry Jacobs: OUT
- Brock Wright: OUT
- Jason Cabinda: OUT
- Derrick Barnes: Doubtful
Jacobs and Wright are no surprise. they didn’t practice all week long. The good news is that Jacobs being out won’t affect the Lions approach at cornerback. The team moved away from him against the Broncos and had some success with Khalil Dorsey and Kindle Vildor.
As for Gardner-Johnson, no shock here. He’s missed the last 13 weeks of football. He needs some time to get back into things before he hits the field again. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said as much on Friday.
“He’s looked good. Looks fresh. Obviously moving around pretty good. So it’s really just about getting, we just need to get him some more practices just to make sure he’s ready to go. He’s comfortable. You know, we don’t just want to throw him out there to the wolves, you know? I don’t necessarily see him going this week. But he’s good.”
As for the Vikings, here’s what their report looks like:
- Byron Murphy Jr: OUT
- Jalen Nailor: OUT
- Harrison Phillips: Questionable
- Alexander Mattison: Questionable
- Brian O’Neill: Questionable
- Ivan Pace Jr.: Questionable
- Jonathan Bullard: Questionable
- Jordan Hicks: Questionable
Murphy has been starting at corner for the Vikings all season. With him out, they’ll likely look to rookie Mehki Becton. Starting right tackle Brian O’Neill is one to watch. He missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday before putting in a limited session on Friday. He missed last week’s game against the Bengals. We’ll see how he feels on Sunday when inactives come out.