Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (right hand) returned to a limited practice on Wednesday.
McCarthy injured his throwing hand in the Dec. 21 win over the Giants, with the hairline fracture forcing him to miss the Christmas Day victory over the Lions. Max Brosmer started for McCarthy for a second time this season.
In nine games this season, McCarthy has completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 1,450 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The Vikings practiced without tight end T.J. Hockenson (shoulder), running back Aaron Jones (hip) and wide receiver Myles Price (ankle).
Linebacker Blake Cashman (elbow), running back Jordan Mason (ankle), offensive tackle Brian O’Neill (heel), defensive lineman Levi Drake Rodriguez (rib) and safety Harrison Smith (rest) were limited.
Tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back) was a full participant.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love is on the mend, but he remains in concussion protocol as Green Bay begins its practice week.
Love will participate in Wednesday’s session, head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters in his press conference.
“He still has yet to be cleared, but he’ll practice,” LaFleur said.
Love suffered his concussion during the Dec. 20 loss to Chicago and did not play in Week 17.
With Green Bay already locked into the NFC’s No. 7 seed, it seems unlikely that Love will play Sunday’s regular-season finale against Minnesota. But LaFleur did not make that official when speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“Well let’s just get through the week and see where we’re at,” LaFleur said. “Here’s what I told the team: We have 53 spots on our roster. You can have two call-ups. You have 48 dressed on gameday, so there’s going to be some starters that aren’t going to play. There’s, shoot, they might not suit up, they might suit up. And then you’re going to have some starters that are going to play.
“Basically, you guys will find out on Sunday who’s playing.”
In 15 games this season, Love has completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,381 yards with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Backup quarterback Malik Willis also will be limited on Wednesday after aggravating his shoulder injury against Baltimore on Saturday.
With two quarterbacks injured, the Packers signed Desmond Ridder to their practice squad on Wednesday. LaFleur said, “We’ll find out,” when asked what the former Falcons third-round pick can give the team.
“Luckily for all of us, he’s had experience in similar systems in regards to, shoot, he was with Vegas last year with [Luke] Getsy,” LaFleur said. “He’s been in Atlanta with Arthur Smith and Arthur and I have obviously worked together before [with the Titans]. So, there is some common language, I would say.
“I know just talking to him, he was in Minnesota and I’m sure that Kevin [O’Connell’s] got some common language that we use that dates back to when we were, at separate times, with Sean [McVay] in L.A. So, he seems like a smart guy and we’ll see how fast he can pick it up.”
Green Bay’s first injury report of the week is slated to drop later on Wednesday.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith had a big performance in his club’s Christmas Day victory over the Lions and the league has recognized him for it.
Smith has been named NFC defensive player of the week, the NFL announced on Wednesday.
Smith finished with three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception during the 23-10 victory over Detroit. He is one of four players since 2000 to have at least three tackles, three passes defended, two TFLs, a sack, and an interception all in the same game.
Smith has now been named defensive player of the week three times in his career. It’s the first time he’s won the award since Week 1 of the 2018 season.
He also earned it in Week 16 of the 2017 season.
Desmond Ridder could close out the regular season in a Packers uniform.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Packers are signing Ridder to their practice squad on Wednesday. Ridder joins the team as they head into a Week 18 game against the Vikings that will have no bearing on their playoff seed as they are locked into the No. 7 spot in the NFC.
Jordan Love did not play in Week 17 because of a concussion and Malik Willis has been dealing with a right shoulder injury, which left Clayton Tune as the only healthy quarterback in the organization. If the Packers decline to play Love and Willis, both Tune and Ridder would come up from the practice squad.
Ridder has spent time on the Vikings’ active roster and practice squad this season, but has not appeared in any games. He made one start for the Raiders last season and 17 starts for the Falcons in his first two NFL seasons.
Much has been made in recent days about the status of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and for good reason. His contract expires after the current season, which for the Vikings ends in five days.
In a Tuesday session with reporters, Flores addressed the situation in his opening remarks.
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of talk about my personal situation and next year,” Flores said. “Look, I I’ve said this many times. I’ve loved my time here in Minnesota. My family loves it. The state of Minnesota’s been tremendous to me. [Coach Kevin O’Connell] mentioned there’s been great dialogue, and there has. And now we’ll just kind of let the club and my representation handle the rest. And so that’s kind of where I’m at on that. I don’t, as you guys know, don’t like talking about myself. I think our players are doing a lot of great things on the field, and I don’t want to take away from them in any way. I think if anything, they deserve all of the recognition, I certainly don’t play, as you guys know.”
Flores was later asked if he’s told his representation what he’s looking for. Said Flores, “I tell them I want to win this week.”
Flores eventually was asked whether he wants to come back to the Vikings.
“Like I just said, I love Minnesota,” Flores said. “I love this team. I love working for and with [O’Connell]. You know, he’s been fantastic to me. I think the Wilfs are some of the best owners in the league. I love these players, the coaching staff. And, like I said, this place has shown me a lot of love and I show it right back. And so I don’t know how much more there is to it. I mean, if everything lines up and it fits, you know, from a football standpoint, it fits. And I think there’s always — it’s called a business part of this. The football all lines up, and we’ll just see where it all goes.”
The clock is ticking on that destination. With each day that the Vikings get closer to their final game, Flores gets closer to the open market.
