Veteran safety Harrison Smith has not been on the field for a Minnesota Vikings practice since Aug. 11. If he's been dealing with some kind of injury, caution is the obvious word for a player of his age, and the team is under no obligation to say anything specifically until it's a game week.
Smith was included on the Vikings' initial 53-man roster this week without apparent issue, i.e., he wasn't placed on IR or any other list. But there has still been nothing to explain his recent absence from practice.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about Smith on Thursday, but he declined to get into details while deferring to offering updates on multiple players next week (when it'll be game week, as expected).