Vikings express concerns about wild-card game amid California fires

Harrison Phillips said the league needs to be 'cautious of the image that can portray' to play the game amid disaster.

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Aug. 10, 2024. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips expressed concerns Thursday about the possibility of playing Monday night's wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., Monday night as fires continued to devastate the region throughout the day Thursday. The game has not been moved as of yet.

"I just want to be cautious of the image that can portray," Phillips told reporters Thursday about the possibility of playing the game at SoFi Stadium. "There are people that I know — a lot of players in the NFL retire or have homes in California or have ties to California, that whole area, and you just want to be really cautious of what's really going on outside of this."

The NFL issued a statement Wednesday stating the game is still scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium Monday night, though the league was continuing to evaluate the situation as it develops. There is a contingency plan for an alternative location, which would be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and the game would still take place on Monday night.

There was no word of the game being moved as of Thursday night, but the fires have continued to rage and expand. A new fire, the Kennith Fire, broke out Thursday in relative proximity to the Rams' practice facility in Woodland Hills. Smoke could be seen northwest of the facility, and the team canceled locker room access Thursday to allow players to get home.

Sirens echoing through the valley as a new fire can be seen northwest of the Rams practice facility. pic.twitter.com/gi3mjfpv6F

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 9, 2025

The Rams are cancelling open locker room after practice to let the players get home as a new fire breaks out, The Kenneth Fire

— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 9, 2025

The NBA postponed the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets that was scheduled to take place Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles just hours before it was supposed to tip off due to the fires.

"I think the Lakers canceled their game, and that is an actual indoor facility where (SoFi) Stadium isn't. Some people think it's a dome, it's not," said Phillips, who is Minnesota's player representative to the NFL Players' Association. "... You want to be very cautious of the optics. And again, I strictly say this from a human standpoint, not as a Minnesota Viking who wants a better competitive advantage. That's not where it's coming from."

The Vikings expressed their sympathies for those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles. Quarterback Sam Darnold started his press conference Thursday offering his thoughts to those affected by the fires, including some he knows personally. Coach Kevin O'Connell also offered his prayers to all those impacted and said he'd been in contact with Rams coaches.

"You feel helpless watching it from here and know how many people are being impacted," said O'Connell, who grew up in Carlsbad, Calif., and served as the offensive coordinator of the Rams from 2020-21. "Definitely Southern California holds — I hold near and dear to my heart and have some friends that have lost homes, and you just think about the impact it has on so many folks. Our prayers are with those impacted and definitely with the brave first responders that are putting their lives on the line and working 24-hour shifts to try to help put this thing to an end, which is on all of our minds as we watch some of these things from afar."

Wherever the game takes place, the Vikings are the road team, and O'Connell said it won't change their preparation.

"I defer to the league on all those things and trust in our staff that works here with the league, and knowing the good folks with the Rams that Monday night's game — I know it's going to be played, and we'll just be going to play the football game, regardless of where our plane lands," he said. "But we obviously just need to focus on our preparation for a really talented Los Angeles Rams football team."

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