The Vikings have been dealing with a lot of injuries on defense the last couple of weeks and their leading sacker was added to the list on Wednesday.
Defensive end Everson Griffen did not practice because of what the team is calling a shoulder injury. Per Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Griffen stretched with his teammates before spending the rest of the session open to the media on the sideline and the team’s injury report confirmed he remained out the rest of the way.
Griffen, who has 8.5 sacks, was joined on the sideline by defensive tackle Linval Joseph and linebacker Anthony Barr. Barr missed last week with a groin injury that knocked him out of the team’s Week 13 loss to the Seahawks early in the game while Joseph has missed the last two games with a foot injury.
Safeties Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo were both limited participants in practice. Both players are dealing with knee injuries that kept them out of the lineup last Thursday and Sendejo was absent in Week 13 as well.