Latest Minnesota Vikings’ injury opens up an opportunity for 2023 NFL Draft pick that could improve Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s resume
The Minnesota Vikings are placing Josh Metellus on injured reserve, giving Jay Ward a chance to earn a starting job with Harrison Smith’s retirement looming.
The theme of the 2025 Minnesota Vikings has been injuries.
On Monday afternoon, head coach Kevin O’Connell told the media that edge rusher Jonathan Greenard would be placed on injured reserve and miss the remainder of the season with the shoulder injury he initially suffered against the Baltimore Ravens and re-aggravated against the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday.
The injury news didn’t stop on Wednesday, as O’Connell said that safety Josh Metellus was also placed on injured reserve with his own shoulder injury.
Josh Metellus placed on injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season
O’Connell was honest about the injury with the media on Wednesday, which has landed Metellus on the injury report over the last few weeks.
“We’ve been evaluating that shoulder on a week-in and week-out basis. Through some of the medical evaluations on Monday and into yesterday, it’s been determined he’s going to get his shoulder fixed as well,” said O’Connell. “It’s just not stable enough from a medical perspective. And Tyler and his group, our doctors, and Josh feel like this is the right time to not risk possibly injuring it anymore, and go ahead and get that thing fixed.”
Metellus has been a cornerstone of this defense for the past three seasons, and it landed him a massive contract extension this past August, right before the season started. It isn’t just about the on-field play, but also Metellus and Greenard being great leaders as captains.
“Lind of along the same lines as JG, one of our captains, and a guy that I could not respect more for the toughness he’s shown playing with that injury,” said O’Connell. “As we’ve kind of approached the tail end of the season and just pushed through a lot this year, continuing to lead at such a high standard, and both those guys are going to be heavily involved, still around our team, in the locker room, and continue to push this team to try to finish the way we want to here.”
The injury opens up the door for Jay Ward to get some snaps. A fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Ward is one of just two players remaining from that six-man NFL Draft class from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. They tried him out in the slot during training camp last year, and it didn’t go so well, but playing more as a traditional safety is a smarter usage of Ward. With Harrison Smith likely retiring after the season, this is likely an audition for him to be the starter next season.
The Vikings are also opening the 21-day practice window for rookie sixth-round pick Gavin Bartholomew, who has yet to practice with the team due to a back injury.