Vikings rule Harrison Smith OUT versus Bears, make several more roster moves

Heading into the regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, the Minnesota Vikings have made a handful of roster moves, including one that might not mean a whole lot this week but might be some cause for concern heading into the postseason.

The team has ruled safety Harrison Smith out of Sunday’s game in Chicago. Smith was not listed on the injury report for this week and practiced in full during each session, but reportedly started experiencing knee soreness on Friday and the team has decided to sit him out of Sunday’s game.

The team has also activated tight end Irv Smith Jr. and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard from injured reserve and added them to the active roster. Smith has not played since suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 8, while Bullard has been out since injuring his bicep against the New York Jets and had spent the past four weeks on injured reserve. Bullard was the third starter on the defensive line prior to his injury.

In addition, the team has elevated linebacker Ryan Connelly and offensive lineman Kyle Hinton from the practice squad. This will be Hinton’s third elevation of the season, so if the team wants to bring him up at any point during the postseason they will have to sign him to the 53-man roster. This will be the first opportunity this season for Connelly to see any action this season, as he started the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list after tearing an ACL during the 2021 season. He was brought to the active roster after being removed from PUP, but was immediately waived and re-signed to the practice squad.

Last, but not least, the Vikings signed tight end Nick Muse, who had been waived yesterday to make room for Bullard or Irv Smith on the active roster, back to the practice squad. To make room on the practice squad, the Vikings released defensive lineman Sheldon Day, who they had signed a week ago.

Those appear to be the final roster moves of the 2022 regular season for your Minnesota Vikings. If anything should change between now and kickoff, we will let you know about it.