The final injury report for the Thursday afternoon Christmas Day game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions is out, and there are a few surprises.

Tuesday afternoon brought news that starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy won’t be starting the game due to a broken bone in his hand. He suffered the injury in the 16-13 win over the New York Giants, and missing this game will likely make things easier for the Lions to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Vikings have four players ruled out and two more who are questionable.

Vikings Tuesday injury report

Player	Injury	W/T/F	Designation
C Ryan Kelly	Concussion	DNP/DNP/DNP	Out
QB J.J. McCarthy	Right Hand	DNP/DNP/DNP	Out
TE T.J. Hockenson	Shoulder	DNP/DNP/DNP	Out
RB Jordan Mason	Ankle	DNP/DNP/DNP	Out
RT Brian O’Neill	Heel	DNP/Limited/Limited	Questionable
DT Javon Hargrave	Thigh	Limited/Limited/Limited	—
RB Aaron Jones	Ankle	Limited/Limited/Limited	—
ILB Eric Wilson	Thumb	Limited/Limited/Full	—
TE Gavin Bartholomew	Back	Full/Full/Full	Questionable
RB Ty Chandler	Knee	Full/Full/Full	—
ILB Austin Keys	Ankle	Full/Full/Full	—

Observations

• Hockenson is the biggest surprise on the list. He wasn’t listed as a participant in practice all week long, and will miss the game with a shoulder injury.
• McCarthy has a broken hand and won’t start on Thursday afternoon, giving Max Brosmer the start.
• We have a new lower leg injury for O’Neill with a heel injury. He’s had knee, ankle, and foot designations this season. O’Neill is trying to play on Thursday afternoon, and it’s likely that he will.
• Both Jones and Mason injured their ankles on Sunday. While Jones returned, Mason didn’t, and he won’t play on Thursday, while Jones enters the game without a designation.

Detroit Lions Tuesday injury report

Player	Injury	W/T/F	Designation
LT Taylor Decker	Shoulder/Rest	DNP/Limited/DNP	Questionable
CB Avonte Maddox	Back	DNP/DNP/DNP	Out
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown	Knee	DNP/Limited/Limited	Questionable
OG Trystan Colon	Wrist	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
EDGE Marcus Davenport	Shoulder	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
C Graham Glasgow	Knee	Limited/Full/Full	—
WR Tom Kennedy	Abdomen	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
OT Giovanni Manu	Knee	Limited/Limited/Limited	Out
OG Christian Mahogany	Fibula	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
DT Alim McNeill	Abdomen	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad	Knee	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
CB Amik Robertson	Hand	Limited/Limited/Limited	Questionable
RB David Montgomery	Illness	None/DNP/Limited	Questionable
CB Khalil Dorsey	Illness	None/None/DNP	Questionable

Observations

• The Lions are going into the game very banged up, with 11 players questionable and two more out.
• The biggest one is Amon-Ra St. Brown. He finished the game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a non-participant on Monday, but improved to limited on Tuesday and Wednesday. If he doesn’t play, that could spell disaster for the Lions’ offense.

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