Vikings/Buccaneers Official Injury Reports

With a little more than 24 hours to go before the Vikings and Buccaneers lock horns down in Tampa, it's time to take a look at the final injury reports and see what kind of impact they're going to have on the matchup.  We'll start by looking at the Vikings' injuries, and while there aren't a lot of names on the injury report, the ones that are there are pretty big ones.

Yes, after two full weeks of NOT being injured, Madieu Williams is back on the injury list and more than likely won't be playing tomorrow.  Williams apparently hurt his shoulder during a special teams drill during practice this week.  This begs the question. . .if you have a guy that improves your defense as much as Williams does (and the pass defense has been markedly better in the two games he's been available for) and you know he's a bit on the fragile side, as Williams has proven to be thus far. . .why on earth are you throwing him out there on special teams?  I mean, I know Minnesota's special teams are nothing short of completely awful, but really.

Also, Jared Allen is again listed as questionable, but if last week was any indication, we really have nothing to worry about on that front.

And, hey, that's it for Minnesota injuries, which at this point of the season is pretty remarkable.  So, let's take a look at the Buccaneers' injury report:

The big story on Tampa Bay's injury report, from my personal perspective, is the potential return of Cadillac Williams.  If you'll recall, Williams suffered a horrific leg injury last season, and there were doubts that he would ever play again.  Yet here he is, possibly suiting up against the team he made his NFL debut against.  I'm sure we'll hear more about the chances of Cadillac rolling out of the driveway against us in the days to come.

Both halves of Tampa's current running back tandem are listed as questionable, as Earnest Graham is nursing a knee injury and Warrick Dunn has an injured back.  Dunn fully participated in practice on Friday while Graham was limited, but I'd be surprised if both of them weren't ready to go by tomorrow afternoon.

The other big one from a Minnesota perspective is that TE Alex Smith will more than likely not be playing, so the Vikings' linebackers will have to keep a close eye on turd extraordinaire Jerramy Stevens and prevent him from getting a rhythm with quarterback Jeff Garcia.

That's all for now, folks.  We'll be back with more as the day progresses.  Keep enjoying your weekend, ladies and gentlemen!