The Vikings ruled two players out for Sunday’s game against the Bears but had no others who required game designations.
Neither outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (shoulder) nor center Ryan Kelly (concussion) will play in the NFC North rematch.
Greenard did not practice this week after suffering a shoulder injury against the Ravens that sent him to the locker room in the third quarter last Sunday. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday that the team believed Greenard avoided a long-term injury.
Kelly was a limited participant all three days of practice after having his 21-day practice window for return from injured reserve opened Wednesday.
The Vikings placed Kelly on injured reserve on Oct. 4 while in London after he suffered his second concussion of the season and the fifth documented of his career against the Steelers in Dublin.
O’Connell has said Kelly’s return to play would not come until the 10th-year veteran was “banging down [his] door.” On Friday, he said Kelly’s “pretty darn close to that.”
“Went the whole week without any symptoms [with] as much contact as I could, as much cardio as I could just to test the brain,” said Kelly, speaking for the first time since being put on IR. “It’s actually good that the low light this time of year is more right in your face, so I think I did everything I could to test my symptoms and I feel really good.”
O’Connell said Kelly had a “great week of practice,” including some work with quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the first-string offense. Kelly switched helmet models on the NFL- and NFLPA-approved list and practiced with a Guardian Cap.
