Vikings-Patriots inactive list: Key players missing for both teams
The Vikings and Patriots are dealing with injuries to key players who will miss Thursday night's game in Minneapolis.
For the Patriots, two starting offensive linemen have been ruled out: center David Andrews and right tackle Isaiah Wynn. That could play into the Vikings' hands as Za'Darius Smith, who lines up all over the field, leads the NFL in pressures and Danielle Hunter is having a strong season.
Pressure on Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will be a big thing to watch because Minnesota is without cornerbacks Akayleb Evans (concussion) and Andrew Booth Jr. (knee). With Cam Dantzler still on injured reserve with an ankle injury, Duke Shelley is in line to start opposite of Patrick Peterson.
Perhaps bigger will be Minnesota's ability to stop the run, which they'll have to do for a fourth consecutive game without defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, whose calf injury will keep him sidelined.
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion) is also out.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.