Minnesota Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill suffered a sprained MCL in his team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Dublin, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
O’Neill, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, could miss time, putting the team’s patchwork offensive line in a more precarious position.
Starting center Ryan Kelly also departed Sunday’s game with a concussion, his second this season and at least the fifth of his NFL career.
The Vikings were already playing without left guard Donovan Jackson, who had surgery last week on his left wrist. In the process, the Steelers sacked Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz six times, hit him a total of 14 times and pressured him at a 32% rate. Two of his passes were batted at the line of scrimmage and intercepted, and he also committed a key intentional grounding penalty under duress to derail the Vikings’ final possession in the 24-21 loss.
Swing tackle Justin Skule, who started the first two games of the season at left tackle while Christian Darrisaw completed his recovery from a 2024 knee injury, replaced O’Neill on the right side Sunday while Michael Jurgens, a seventh-round draft pick in 2024, replaced Kelly at center. Blake Brandel played in place of Jackson.
The Vikings (2-2) will play the Cleveland Browns (1-3) in London this Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.
