The Minnesota Vikings are getting a huge player back into the fold ahead of their Week 9 bout against the Detroit Lions. J.J. McCarthy, the teams' second-year quarterback looking to get back on his developmental track under head coach Kevin O'Connell, will be starting against the NFC North powerhouse Lions at Ford Field on Sunday afternoon.
Another potential addition back to the Vikings' roster is linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who provides a huge pop to Minnesota's defense when he's on the field. With the health of tackle Taylor Decker a bit up in the air headed into this game, this injury update isn't exactly welcomed.
Andrew Van Ginkel, who was on the practice field today, said his goal is to return from his neck injury for the #Vikings’ game in Detroit on Sunday. He said he got a concussion when he fell on his head in Chicago, which aggravated the neck injury.
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) October 29, 2025
Van Ginkel has just two sacks on the year and five solo tackles, but he's been limited to only two games this season due to injury. If he's 100 percent ready to go against Detroit, their offensive line is about to get a real test in their pursuit of protecting Jared Goff in the pocket, and creating gaps for Jahmyr Gibbs.
Lions set to face huge test against Vikings' defense in Week 9
This season, the Vikings are eighth in the league in run stop win rate per ESPN. They're also third in pass rush win rate, all without Van Ginkel impacting much of their season. That's in major part due to the work of Jonathan Greenard, Jalen Redmond, and Levi Drake Rodriguez this season.
Greenard is questionable headed into Week 9, but with Van Ginkel seemingly preparing for a go, his loss won't be felt too largely.
Detroit has been right in the middle of the pack this season in pass blocking per ESPN, but one stark stat courtesy A to Z Sports' Mike Payton shows that the teams' O-line has been far better than initially anticipated given the retirement of Frank Ragnow and injuries to Decker:
Lions' offensive line at this time last year had allowed 58 pressures and 11 sacks.
Lions' offensive line this year has allowed 54 pressures and seven sacks
— Mike Payton (@AtoZ_Payton) October 29, 2025
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Goff has definitely looked comfortable in the pocket since Week 1 saw him running for his life from the Green Bay Packers' defensive line more often than you'd like. That's going to be huge against Vank Ginkel and Minnesota, especially since they like to blitz a ton.
Detroit should fare well enough in Week 9 given how cohesively their O-line has been playing each week. Additionally, the backup work of Dan Skipper has been good enough to assume that Detroit doesn't have to purely rely on the health of Decker's shoulder headed into this contest.