The Monday night teams have submitted their injury reports, and most notably it looks like Sam Bradford will play. That puts the Vikings in the mix for above-average passing numbers.
The Bears look pretty much healthy, for fantasy purposes. They’ve declared linebackers Willie Young (elbow) and Nick Kwiatkowski (chest) doubtful. They’re both starters. Center Hroniss Grasu (hand) and cornerback Marcus Cooper (back) are questionable. Grasus is their second-string center; he’s started one game in the last two years.
It’s not certain that Sam Bradford will play, but it’s trending that way. He was limited in practice on Thursday and Friday, and he put in a full practice today. If he’s in there, it gives pass catchers like Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph a better chance of being success. Bradford was pretty studly in his one game this season, completing 27 of 32 passes against the Saints, for 346 yards and 3 TDs.
Like the Bears, Minnesota looks pretty healthy. Offensive tackle Rashod Hill (knee) is out and safety Jayron Kearse (groin) is questionable, but they’re both backups.
Additionally, Jerick McKinnon (ankle) is mentioned on the injury report, but he practiced fully on Thursday and Friday, and he was limited today. Under the old injury guidelines, McKinnon would have been listed as probable. But that designation is gone now, so McKinnon isn’t actually listed (there’s just mention that he missed some practice time. He’s playing.
The MNF injury report is posted at Minnesota’s official team site.
One other injury note: The Steelers have downgraded Martavis Bryant to questionable. Apparently he’s ill. Those thinking about using Bryant will want to check the inactives on Sunday. If Bryant is ruled out, that probably would translate into JuJu Smith-Schuster seeing a few more balls. (But Smith-Schuster would still be their slot receiver; they likely would replace Bryant on the outside with Justin Hunter, having Hunter run mostly vertical routes.)
—Ian Allan