The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings released their final injury reports on Friday for their Week 18 Sunday night game, with three players ruled out and five others listed as questionable.
For the Lions, running back David Montgomery and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley have been ruled out. Montgomery is recovering from a knee injury, expected to keep him sidelined until the divisional round, while Moseley is dealing with an unspecified illness.
The Lions may face additional depth concerns at running back, as Craig Reynolds is questionable after a back issue surfaced on Friday’s injury report.
If Reynolds is unable to play, Jermar Jefferson would step in to back up Jahmyr Gibbs. Detroit also has rookie Sione Vaki available to help, though Jefferson would first need to be promoted from the practice squad, which could happen on Saturday.
In addition to Reynolds, linebacker Alex Anzalone and wide receiver Kalif Raymond are both listed as questionable. Anzalone was designated to return from injured reserve this week, while Raymond was activated last week. Although Raymond has practiced fully for two consecutive weeks and is expected to play, Anzalone’s status is less certain. Despite participating in one limited practice and two full sessions, Anzalone admitted he is still not fully confident in his forearm.
“A hundred percent? No,” Anzalone said, speaking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
“Obviously, the doctors and the trainers, they kind of go through what the risks are of waiting a week, waiting two weeks, going through practice and maybe letting it spend next week or the week after that or this week (healing),” Anzalone explained.
He continued, “So I think that for me personally, I think it’s like, OK, say if something did happen, would I be OK not playing in the Super Bowl? So I think that’s kind of the decision I have to make in my own head, and is it worth it and how do I feel going over these next few practices and go from there. ‘Cause I haven’t practiced in six weeks, so I’m just using my arm and seeing how it goes.”
The Vikings, on the other hand, have no major injury concerns among their starters, but linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill and cornerback Fabian Moreau are questionable. Outside linebacker Patrick Jones II has been ruled out.
Here’s the full list of injury designations for both teams ahead of the critical game that will determine the NFC North champion and the No. 1 seed:
Lions Injury Designations
- LB Alex Anzalone (forearm): Questionable
- WR Kalif Raymond (foot): Questionable
- RB Craig Reynolds (back): Questionable
- RB David Montgomery (knee): Out
- CB Emmanuel Moseley (illness): Out
Vikings Injury Designations
- LB Kamu Grugier-Hill (illness): Questionable
- CB Fabian Moreau (hip): Questionable
- OLB Patrick Jones II (knee): Out
