Thursday afternoon gave Minnesota Vikings fans a scare when safety Harrison Smith was added to the injury report with a foot injury. It was a surprise, as Smith had been healthy throughout the season
When Smith was listed as questionable on the final injury report on Friday, head coach Kevin O'Connell said that it came from Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears.
"It came out of the game. We normally are smart with the work week for him, and just kind of with how our workload on a shorter week kind of came up. It was best to kind of go limited, DNP, limited. So it was all part of the plan from the early part of the week."
Kevin O'Connell gives optimistic update on Harrison Smith
Word came out 90 minutes before kickoff that Smith was going to miss the game with said foot injury. The defense was able to overcome the loss of Smith and his replacement Theo Jackson got the game-sealing interception with less than a minute to go.
O'Connell was asked about Smith's health and gave a positive update.
"It was truly a game-day decision with him and Harrison (Smith) is a guy that sometimes you've got to make the decision to sit him down. Otherwise, he's going to go. And we knew he was dealing with some significant soreness that just kind of never kind of turned over but we're expecting him to be fine and be ready to roll this week."
Making the decision for the player is one of those tough calls that coaches have to make sometimes, especially when it's in the best interest of the player as O'Connell alluded to in the above quote.
Smith likely being ready for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers is huge for the Vikings, especially with the diverse passing attack that the Packers have. It's also possible for inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. to return on Sunday from the hamstring injury he suffered in the first meeting with the Chicago Bears.
