The Minnesota Vikings will play one of the Christmas holiday games for the third time in four seasons when they face the Detroit Lions on Thursday afternoon.

There will be three games on Christmas Day, and the mid-afternoon one will be at U.S. Bank Stadium, featuring the incredible Winter Warrior uniforms. The game could knock the Lions out of the playoffs and lock the Vikings into last place in the NFC North.

The first injury report is out, and it gives a lot of perspective on who will play on Thursday.

Vikings Monday injury report

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

Observations

• The important thing with this injury report is that all participants are estimated. It’s a short week, and they didn’t have a full practice on Monday.
• McCarthy, being a non-participant, is a tough one for the Vikings. We still don’t know what the injury is, and it’s likely that will come out on Tuesday when we hear from Kevin O’Connell.
• We have a new lower leg injury for O’Neill with a heel injury. He’s had knee, ankle, and foot designations this season.
• Both Jones and Mason injured their ankles on Sunday. While Jones returned, Mason didn’t. It would be a surprise to see Mason on Thursday.

Detroit Lions Monday injury report

Player	Injury	W/T/F	Designation
LT Taylor Decker	Shoulder	DNP
CB Avonte Maddox	Back	DNP
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown	Knee	DNP
OG Trystan Colon	Wrist	Limited
EDGE Marcus Davenport	Shoulder	Limited
C Graham Glasgow	Knee	Limited
WR Tom Kennedy	Abdomen	Limited
OT Giovanni Manu	Knee	Limited
OG Christian Mahogany	Fibula	Limited
DT Alim McNeill	Abdomen	Limited
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad	Knee	Limited
CB Amik Robertson	Hand	Limited

Observations

• Like the Vikings, the Lions didn’t have a full practice on Monday. It’s an estimated report.
• The biggest one is Amon-Ra St. Brown. He finished the game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, so his designation could just be a maintenance thing.

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