Vikings center Ryan Kelly returns to practice; Jonathan Greenard sidelined

Vikings center Ryan Kelly took the next step in his return on Wednesday when he practiced for the first time since the Sept. 28 concussion, his second sustained within three weeks.

The Vikings began Kelly’s three-week practice window while on injured reserve. Kelly, 32, has missed six games this season because of concussions, including the last five games. He initially suffered a concussion in the Sept. 14 loss to the Falcons and sat out the following week.

Kelly began the on-field portion of his rehab last week, but officially rejoined practice on Wednesday. He is eligible to play Sunday against the Bears, but the Vikings also have two more weeks before they need to activate him or shelve him for the season.

“He looks good, man,” said Blake Brandel, who has made five starts at center. “I’m like, ‘Dude, how are you feeling?’ And he’s like, ‘I feel great.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, you look good.’ It’s awesome to have him back out there.”

Kelly has suffered at least five documented concussions, including three during his nine-year run with the Colts.

“The idea was to have a concrete timeline that we’ve now exceeded out of an abundance of what we think is best for Ryan,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “This week is really more about getting him phased back into practice.”

“Ultimately, we’re looking at this as not just the rest of this season, but beyond,” O’Connell added. “I wanted him to be banging down my office door, and he’s getting pretty darn close to doing that.”

McCarthy said the hand issue will not affect him moving forward, but that he “definitely felt it” during Sunday’s loss.

“If this practice was another 24 hours” later, O’Connell said, “it probably wouldn’t even have been something we mentioned. It’s just to make sure the swelling ... got out of there from kind of just a bruise. We don’t want it to fester the rest of the week.”

Quarterback Carson Wentz underwent “successful left shoulder surgery” on Tuesday in Los Angeles, O’Connell said. Wentz was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Oct. 27 because of a torn labrum that he played through for 2½ games. He’s expected to rejoin the team soon, O’Connell said.

Wentz, a free agent in March, has said that he wants to play in 2026 and that he expects his recovery to last about four months.

Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard did not practice Wednesday because of the left shoulder injury he suffered against Baltimore.

“I still think he has a chance,” O’Connell said, “but at the same time, we’ll kind of let the medical staff ... work through the week.”

McCarthy said there are “a lot of different tempos and rhythms to my cadence that I have to clean up” after the Vikings were flagged for eight false starts on Sunday.

O’Connell clarified that it’s “not just the quarterback,” but that there has to be a conviction across all pre-snap chatter.

“A little bit more poise to the communication,” O’Connell said. “It’s the huddle. It’s the dynamic of the play call. It’s the dynamic of when we are motioning or we are trying to do some things for schematic reasons, where the emphasis on the cadence is going to be.”

“It got away from us in a pretty catastrophic way,” O’Connell added. “Now we’ve got to practice in a way that reflects trying to put that behind us.”

Jones said Vurgess, a 27-year military veteran and mother of four children, attends every game, but that the team surprised him by bringing her onto the field.

“When I look back, it’s going to be a highlight of my career,” said Jones, a ninth-year veteran and team captain. “Just to honor my mother, who, I wouldn’t be here without her.”

“My mom said, ‘This is the best day ever,’ ” he added. “We got to go have a day.”

He then had 69 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on the opening drive.

“I’m glad I was able to get in the end zone for her,” Jones said.