Christian Ponder connects with Percy Harvin
Credit: Mike Wobschall

Day two of padded practice (and day four of practice overall) is now complete in Mankato.  Below is all the news from the final day of July’s practice.

Injury notes:

• Did not practice: Josh Robinson, Adrian Peterson, Robert Blanton, and DeMarcus Love.
• Limited due to CBA rules: Stephen Burton and Chris Stroud
• TE John Carlson injures knee during practice.  Carlson will be out “a few weeks” with a sprained MCL.  There is no tear and surgery will not be needed

Practice notes:

• Quarterback update on 11-on-11 drills: Christian Ponder went 3 of 8; Joe Webb went 3 of 6; Sage Rosenfels went 10 of 14; and Bethel-Thompson went 0 of 3
• Leslie Frazier on Christian Ponder’s less than stellar day: “We are so early in the camp. You don’t panic about those moments.”
• Stand outs on defense: Harrison Smith with a pick and Mistral Raymond and Eric Lattimore with pass deflections
• Hit of the day: Everson Griffen lays out Lex Hillard
• Almost fight: Harrison Smith versus Mickey Shuler 

Defensive line gets work in on their first day with pads
Credit: Fox9 Sports

Monday marked the Vikings third day of practice, but the first practice with pads.  Below are some highlights from those in Mankato covering training camp.

Percy #1 man at kick returner — is this part of the plan to keep him happy?
Credit: Mike Wobschall

Vikings have completed two days of practices at training camp in Mankato.  Below are some observations of practice number two from those that were there:

• Rookie CB Josh Robinson sat out of practice after pulling his hamstring yesterday.  Vikings are listing him as day-to-day.  Stephen Burton, Nick Taylor, Eric Latimore, and Adrian Peterson also did not practice today.
• Mickey Shuler is off the non-football injury list and took some backup reps at tight end
• Special teams coach Mike Priefer told reporters “Percy is our number one kick returner.” Other players who got looks at return man include Bryan Walters, Kerry Taylor, Jarius Wright, Marcus Sherels, and Josh Robinson.
• Geoff Schwartz and Brandon Fusco got reps at right guard with the ones
• Mistral Raymond and Jamarca Sanford got reps at starting safety
• Emmanuel Arceneaux looks like he has improved his route running
• Jerome Simpson dropped a pass and as self-punishment did a set of push-ups. Supposedly the crowd loved it.  Simpson also banged knees with Zackary Bowman and was slowed to get up, but returned to action.
• Adrian Peterson looks better than he did when he worked out in front of the media a few months ago
• Kicker update: Blair Walsh hit four straight 46-yard kicks and went two-of-three from 55-yards out

It seems like Adrian Peterson didn’t get his wish to be on the practice field come today.  The Vikings decided to place their star running back on the active/PUP list.

“We think that’s the best thing to do for right now,” coach Leslie Frazier said of Peterson, who tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on Dec. 24 at Washington and had surgery six days later.

“We’ll continue to evaluate him daily, see how he’s progressing, and at some point, the doctors and our head trainer Eric Sugarman will come to me and say, ‘Hey, we think he’s ready to get involved in some team activities.’ But at this point, we’re going to go through some evaluations, just make a determination as to when is the right time to put him out there with his teammates.”

Peterson said he would fight to be on the field with his teammates, but essentially would do what is best for himself and the team.

“He put up a fight. He did,” Frazier said. “Knowing Adrian like you guys do, he wanted to make sure — ‘Coach, don’t hold me back. Let me get out there.’

“He wants to get out there, but we’ve got to be smart. We need to see him do a few things and then make a determination. But if he had his way, he’d be getting involved (Friday).”

» Continue reading “Adrian Peterson Placed On PUP List”