Ivan Pace Jr. - Minnesota Vikings
Ivan Pace Jr. - Minnesota Vikings
We less than 24 hours away from kickoff tomorrow between the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a Week 3 matchup that has a ton of implications on both sidelines.
Thankfully, the Vikings got mostly healthy this week. Not only will they get starting QB Kyler Murray back under center, but Aaron Jones has been ruled a full-go too.
Outside of running back Jordan Mason, who remains on injured reserve for three more weeks, Minnesota’s only key injury absence heading into Tampa is punter Brett Thorson, who’s been replaced by Johnny Hekker for at least one week, while he sits out with a hamstring injury.
Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. questionable to play Week 3 vs Bucs
However, after Jauan Jennings missed the Bears game to mourn the death of a loved one, it’s now linebacker Ivan Pace Jr.’s who’s been downgraded to “Questionable” due to a non-injury related personal matter, the Vikings announced Saturday afternoon.
LB Ivan Pace Jr. (Not Injury Related – Personal) did not travel with the team and his game status is now questionable.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 26, 2026
Related: Giants Interested in Vikings’ JJ McCarthy After All?
Ivan Pace Jr. is no longer a starter on the Minnesota Vikings front-seven, like he was for much of his first two seasons in purple. Originally an undrafted free agent signing out of Cincinnati, Pace Jr has played in 47 NFL games over four seasons, including 27 starts, 21 of which came during his first two years in the league.
What could Vikings lose if Pace Jr. can’t play?
In 2026, Pace Jr. has played in both of the Vikings’ first two games, including 24 snaps on defense (17%) and 44 snaps on special teams (85%). Last week, the 2023 UDFA played 14 defensive snaps.
In total, Pace has 6 tackles on the season, including 1 tackle for loss. While the 25-year-old may not play an every-down role for the Vikings right now, he will certainly be missed on special teams, if he cannot play.
And there are still moments where Pace has come up big on defense this season too. Look no further than DeAndre Swift’s goalline fumble last week in Chicago, a play that completely changed the outlook of that game.
But who made the initial stop on Swift, before Redmond came barrelling in to punch the football out? You guessed it.
Vikings force a turnover at the goal line 😳
MINvsCHI on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/7RgeAkxkX9
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
Hopefully, whatever personal issue going on with Ivan Pace Jr. settles in the best possible way. This is a kid who lives and breathes to play football and hit people. That makes me nervous, because there isn’t a lot that would keep him off the football field on Sundays…