The Vikings have ruled Edge Andrew Van Ginkel out for Sunday's game against the Falcons. He's in the concussion protocol off the Monday night win over the Bears. S Harrison Smith is questionable for the game after putting in limited practices all week. Listed with an illness, he said this week he's been dealing with a "physical thing" and trying to get back into game shape. Smith returned to practice ahead of Week 1 after being out since Aug. 11 but missed the Chicago game.
Smith earlier this week: "I'm just going to get out there and see how much I can handle and go from there. I've already moved around. Moving around well. It's just volume, conditioning, stuff like that. We're kind of fluid with if I'm ready to go or not. Like, am I going to help the team or not? That's all that matters."
Van Ginkel's absence hurts the pass rush, as well as the versatility of the short-range coverage. Van Ginkel drops into coverage more than the typical edge player, including on 22 of his 61 snaps against the BEars, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dallas Turner -- a 2024 first-round pick -- figures to gain playing time in Van Ginkel's place. He saw limited playing time as a rookie but did drop into coverage at a rate of one per 2.75 pass rushes.
Van Ginkel, for comparison, dropped into coverage at a rate of one per 2.06 pass rushes.
Turner doesn't get a great matchup in the Falcons. QB Michael Penix Jr. has taken just four total sacks across his four NFL starts to date, including one in last week's loss to the Buccaneers.
We'll see about Smith's status for Sunday, but he doesn't seem like a good bet to garner full-time snaps even if active and starting.
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