The Minnesota Vikings deactivated quarterback Tarvaris Jackson for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, meaning veteran Kelly Holcomb will get his third start of the season.
Jackson was officially listed as questionable on Friday's injury report and was a game-time decision by head coach Brad Childress with a broken index finger on his throwing hand. Jackson will be the emergency third quarterback against the Eagles.
Jackson didn't have a splint on the finger when he walked off the practice field Friday, but when asked if his grip had gotten better he said only that the swelling had subsided. Earlier in the week, Jackson said the injury made it difficult to keep a tight spiral.
After defending his decision to bring star rookie Adrian Peterson along slowly, Childress also decided to start him at running back over Chester Taylor. Peterson leads the league in rushing, but had only 12 carries in last week's loss to Dallas, prompting a groundswell of criticism of Childress.
The coach gave an unprompted explanation of his strategy at his Wednesday news conference, saying there were still some things the No. 7 overall draft pick was learning and he would be more involved in the offense when he was ready.
Starting safety Dwight Smith (strained hamstring) was ruled out for the second straight game for the Vikings.
The remaining inactives for Minnesota are defensive back Ronyell Whitaker, tight end Garrett Mills, linebacker Vinny Ciurciu, tackle Chase Johnson, wide receiver Aundrae Allison and defensive end Erasmus James.
For the Eagles, safety Brian Dawkins (neck) was out again. He hasn't played since Week 2, but practiced Thursday and Friday and was listed as questionable.
Right tackle Jon Runyan is active, making his 185th consecutive start despite being listed as questionable after bruising his tailbone in a training room fall two weeks ago. Runyan did not practice this week and coach Andy Reid said he would be evaluated before the game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
