Vikings Edge Andrew Van Ginkel (neck) and S Josh Metellus (foot) are active for today's game against the Lions. It'll mark the first game back since Week 3 for Van Ginkel. He remains well down our Week 9 DL rankings for a negative matchup and uncertain playing time in his return. But Van Ginkel could be a significant IDP contributor the rest of the way.

The Vikings have ruled Edge Andrew Van Ginkel out for Thursday night's game against the Chargers. This'll mark the fourth straight missed game for Van Ginkel, surrounding the team's Week 6 bye. That Minnesota never put him on IR indicates they didn't expect him to be out this long -- or at least hoped that he wouldn't. We'll see whether the longer break before a Week 9 visit to Detroit is enough to get him back on the field.

Vikings LB Blake Cashman is active for today's game against the Eagles. That marks his return from a Week 1 hamstring injury that landed Cashman on IR. It's not certain we'll get a full-time role, but Cashman put in full practices all week and should be ready for such duty. A positive scoring matchup with Philly makes him easier to get back into IDP lineups. Cashman's return also knocks LB Eric Wilson back to a reserve role.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Tuesday that Edge Andrew Van Ginkel won't practice this week because of his neck injury, according to the team website. That sure seems to indicate Van Ginkel won't play Sunday against the Browns. Minnesota gets a Week 6 bye, so we'll see about his status after that.

The Vikings have ruled Edge Andrew Van Ginkel out for Sunday's game against the Steelers because of a neck injury. Van Ginkel missed Week 2 with a concussion, returned for Sunday's win over the Bengals, but made it through just eight snaps before leaving that one for good. He didn't practice at all this week but did some work on the side Friday.

Vikings Edge Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion) and S Harrison Smith (illness) are active for today's game against the Bengals. Van Ginkel should return to normal IDP usage after missing just one game. Smith's likely to get eased back in after an extended recovery from an unspecified summer illness. He shouldn't be in your Week 3 lineups.

Vikings Edge Andrew Van Ginkel and S Harrison Smith are questionable for Sunday's game against the Bengals. Van Ginkel got back to full practice participation Friday after missing last week with his concussion. That makes him seem likely to return for this game. Smith remained limited all week coming off his summer illness. We'll see about his status Sunday, but the safety won't be a good bet for IDP lineups when he takes the field for the first time.

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.

The Vikings are placing LB Blake Cashman on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Monday night's game. That means he'll miss at least the next four contests. That span runs directly into Minnesota's Week 6 bye, which should give Cashman a pretty good chance of returning as soon as he's eligible.

Vikings LB Blake Cashman left Monday night's win over the Bears with an injury to his right hamstring. Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the "initial expectation" is that Cashman will miss "several weeks." The LB's headed for a Monday MRI to determine the extent of the damage.

The Colts have agreed to a four-year deal with S Camryn Bynum. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that he'll get $60 million. Bynum figures to join Nick Cross starting at the back of Indy's defense.

Vikings S Harrison Smith is inactive for today's game against the Seahawks with a foot injury. Theo Jackson looks like the next man up among safeties, but he's not a strong bet for full playing time.

Vikings Edge Andrew Van Ginkel and DT Harrison Phillips are active for today's game against the Falcons and ready to normal IDP use. Edge Patrick Jones II is inactive. All three entered the day questionable.

Vikings Edge Andrew Van Ginkel is questionable for Sunday's game against the Falcons, but he seems likely to play. Van Ginkel put in limited practices all week because of a thigh issue. And according to Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune, HC Kevin O'Connell "seemed optimistic about most of the questionable players being able to go."

Vikings LBs Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. are both active for today's game against the Jaguars. It'll be Cashman's first action since Week 5, after he went inactive for the past three games. Pace played no more than 69% of snaps in any of the three games he shared with Cashman earlier this year but saw full playing time in the three contests Cashman missed. That leaves some uncertainty on the snap outlooks for both players today. I have them projected for even playing time against a Jaguars offense that could easily support full-time work for two LBs today.

The Vikings have ruled LB Blake Cashman out for the second straight game with a toe injury. His absence means full playing time for LB Ivan Pace Jr. No other non-edge Minnesota LB played more than 16% of defensive snaps last week, though. We'll see about Cashman's outlook for a Week 9 home date with the Colts.

Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. told Kay Adams on her show Monday that he'll wear the green dot on his helmet this season and call the plays in the defensive huddle. That's a significant revelation for the second-year player, who saw his playing time vary last year and then watched the team pay up for LB Blake Cashman in free agency.

The Vikings grabbed Edge Dallas Turner with the 17th pick of the first round. Turner brings plenty of excitement as a 21-year-old early declare who delivered a 99th-percentile speed score at 6’3, 247 pounds. He also delivered 0.86 tackles for loss per game and 0.6 sacks per game for his career at Alabama. Turner lands in a Minnesota defense that just lost Edge Danielle Hunter to the Texans in free agency. That plus Turner's Round 1 draft capital -- increased by the two trades that got the Vikes in position to draft him -- makes him likely to start early in his rookie season. Expect Turner to rank high in the rookie rankings for your IDP draft.

Vikings LB Jordan Hicks (shin) is active for today's game against the Lions. Minnesota activated him from IR Saturday, and it appears Hicks is ready to reclaim his role. There's some risk to playing him right away following a four-game absence, but we're willing to take that shot in LB2 range of the Week 16 LB rankings. Rookie LB Ivan Pace Jr. (shoulder) is active as well after turning up questionable with a late-week shoulder injury. He filled in well for Hicks but now carries a playing-time question with Hicks back. Pace sits in LB3 territory of our rankings. DT Harrison Phillips (back) is also active but sits lower in our DL rankings than usual. There is tackle upside against a Detroit offense that likes to run.

Vikings LB Jordan Hicks is questionable for Sunday's game against the Lions. He put in full practices all week, in his first action following four weeks on IR for compartment syndrome after a shin injury. Hicks tweeted a hype video Friday pointing to his return, but it ended with the message "soon." So we'll have to see whether Hicks will play. If he does, we'd assume he'll play at least near his usual role and carry intriguing IDP upside. We've had Hicks in our Week 16 LB rankings but will continue to track his status. Fellow LB Ivan Pace Jr. popped up on the injury report Friday with a shoulder issue that limited his practice. He's also questionable. DT Harrison Phillips (back) is questionable after managing just one limited practice for the week. You should lean away from using him if possible. The defense will miss CB Byron Murphy (knee). The matchup with Detroit's high-ceiling offense doesn't look attractive regardless of who's active (or not).