The Vikings have done a solid job of staying healthy throughout the season (knock on wood), earning a reputation as one of the healthiest teams in the league, and they got even healthier today.

Week 18 Minnesota Vikings injury report

The Vikings released their Thursday injury report for Week 18, and there’s some good news. Several key players have returned to full practice participation, putting them on track to play this Sunday.

Fullback CJ Ham, who’s been dealing with a quad injury, took a step forward by going from limited in practice yesterday to being a full participant today which is definitely a good sign. The same goes for safety Harrison Smith, who missed his first game of the season in Week 16, but returned last week. And after being a full participant in practice today, it looks like Smith is on track to suit up again.

Thursday's #Vikings injury report pic.twitter.com/wGQ1MSXhqh

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 2, 2025

Defensive lineman Pat Jones, who’s been having a strong season with 7 sacks, got hurt in last week’s game. He’s now missed both Wednesday and Thursday practices, which probably means he won’t suit up this week. The team is hoping he’ll be ready to go by the time the playoffs roll around, though.

Related: Aaron Jones Wants to Retire as a Viking

Running back Aaron Jones has managed to stay healthy for most of the season. However, he’s been dealing with a quad injury this week. He was limited in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, and It’ll be worth watching if he goes full tomorrow or if the Vikings play it safe with him.

The Vikings need to keep staying healthy as they gear up for the playoffs. Securing a win and earning the first round bye would be huge since it comes with an extra week of rest, making this week even more critical.

5️⃣ #Vikings have been added to the #ProBowl as replacements.@KirkCousins8 @EversonGriffen @cjham28 @EricKendricks54 @XavierRhodes29_

?: https://t.co/Hz9w28VA5O pic.twitter.com/slKb4Rak1r

LMFAO WHAT pic.twitter.com/MFPa6gOr2o

— Arif Hasan, orbital traveler ? (@ArifHasanNFL) January 21, 2020

Seth and I talked about this very topic yesterday on MSF Daily – LIVE and I’m glad the NFL came out this morning to prove our point…. once again. The NFL Pro Bowl is a waste of time and space. It’s the one thing about the NFL, outside of concussions, that continually makes the league look inept. None of the all-star festivities around the professional sports world are ever praised, but the NFL Pro Bowl is by far the worst, expecially compared to how great the in-season product is.

When we broached this topic on Monday, we were talking about some of the snubs for the Vikings, specifically Eric Kendricks, who is on this list of 5 Vikings Extras (rightfully so). But instead of lightly tapping the pendulum back toward the balanced position, we’re violently ripping it through, as if breaking the damn thing is worth bonus points. Xavier Rhodes has just been named a 2020 pro bowler and that makes my mouth water and pits sweat a little… like that bad feeling you get right before breakfast resurfaces.

How does this happen?

Because it isn’t all based on merit. The fans get 1/3 of the vote. I’d be surprised if Xavier got that…… Players get 1/3 of the vote which likely turns into a player popularity contest just as much as it does anything else. Then, the coaches also get 1/3… which is probably the fairest of the thirds but let’s be real here too, coaches don’t have time to watch everyone in their conference. If they don’t play against players regularly, then they don’t know shit about them…. so they vote with bias or they take advice from someone else.

None of it makes sense. This is exactly why Eric Kendricks waits to be named a Pro Bowl alternate, even though he’s a top-3 middle linebacker league-wide, and Xavier Rhodes gets mentioned right next to him, even though he shouldn’t be allowed to sniff Kendricks’ jock, let alone a Pro Bowl roster. What a joke.

This isn’t a big deal. Who cares if Xavier makes a Pro Bowl. I honestly don’t (but Richard Sherman will, I’d bet). If anyone should be irritated, it’s players and owners collectively. Bonus money is actually tied to this worthless game. If you make a Pro Bowl roster, you usually make more money. Kendricks almost missed out on that… and Rhodes actually got his. That’s mind boggling if you watched this team play all season. Owners should want to reward and incentivise great play, but it should really piss them off to pay out bonus money to those who don’t deserve it. Players should hate seeing peers make the roster over someone else who deserves it more. 

Everyone else who was named for the Vikings was well-deserving. It’s really good to see Griffen get rewarded for such a comeback season so at least there’s a little good that comes out of all this. Kirk Cousins deserved his bid too… but I wasn’t outraged by his snub. Hell, Teddy Bridewater made it in 2017. 

Jeez…. I just can’t wait to watch the Pro Bowl.

via GIPHY

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan