Starting center Ryan Kelly is on injured reserve with his second concussion of the season and fifth documented one of his career. Blake Brandel started his third game in his place.
O’Neill was marked as not practicing Monday and Tuesday and was only a limited participant Wednesday, though those statuses were estimations, as the Vikings held walkthroughs instead of live practices on the short week.
He had returned Sunday from a right medial collateral ligament sprain suffered Week 4 against the Steelers in Dublin, playing 100% of the Vikings’ offensive snaps in their loss to the Eagles.
O’Neill said after that game that his knee ”gave out” on him a few times. O’Connell added Thursday that O’Neill came out of the Eagles game with soreness in his left knee from “maybe overcompensating” for his right knee.
“Both those guys, I know because they proved it before, both those guys would do anything to be out there with their teammates,” O’Connell said, referring to O’Neill and Darrisaw. “I’m the furthest thing from a doctor. I know it’s been debated, my medical prowess when it comes to our injured players playing, but I very simply listen to our doctors and listen, more importantly, to our players as much as I possibly can.”
Also inactive for the Vikings were outside linebacker Chazz Chambliss, defensive lineman Elijah Williams and quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who served as the emergency third QB.