Vikings’ early injury report: Trae Waynes returns, Riley Reiff sits out

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings had their first practice of the week in preparation for their contest against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was a bit of a mixed bag for the Vikings, with a key member of the defense making his return, and an important member of the offense sitting things out.

Reports from Eagan say that cornerback Trae Waynes returned to practice on Wednesday for the purple. Waynes suffered a concussion in the Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and had not cleared the league’s concussion protocol in time to play in Week 5 against Philadelphia. He’s back now, though, and it sounds like he’s in line to regain his starting gig this coming Sunday.

On the other end of the spectrum, starting left tackle Riley Reiff sat out of Wednesday’s practice with the foot injury that he’s been dealing with for several weeks. Reiff was listed on the injury report in both Week 4 and Week 5, but played in both contests (despite not practicing at all leading up to the Philadelphia game). Reiff left last Sunday’s game in the second quarter and was replaced at left tackle by Rashod Hill, with rookie Brian O’Neill jumping into Hill’s spot at right tackle. If Reiff is unable to go on Sunday against Arizona, I would think we would see the same configuration.

Another starter that didn’t practice for the Vikings on Wednesday was safety Andrew Sendejo, who sat out with a groin injury. No indication of who might start in his place if he’s not able to go. It could be Anthony Harris, or we could finally see George Iloka get some significant snaps on the defensive side of the ball.

Looking at the rest of the injury report, cornerback/punt returner Marcus Sherels was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, and looks as though he’s set to play for the first time since Week 2 after dealing with a rib injury. Defensive end Tashawn Bower sat out of practice with an ankle injury. That same injury caused him to be deactivated for last Sunday’s win in Philadelphia.

And, of course, Everson Griffen is still not back practicing with the team, and no definitive timetable has been given for his return.

We will continue tracking the health of the Vikings until the final injury reports come out on Wednesday.