Monday, July 30, 2012

Practice, shmactice, let's start hitting

After a day off on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings returned to the practice fields at Minnesota State University and had a morning workout amid hot, humid conditions.

Much of the morning session was devoted to special teams workouts with no helmets or shoulder pads. There seemed to be as much of a concern for what wasn't happening as for what was.

"We're really eager to start hitting," head coach Leslie Frazier said at the conclusion of the workout."You can only evaluate players so much in the walk-thrus.It's when you put the pads on that the players start to separate themselves."

Frazier said the offensive and defensive lines would see more live action this afternoon but it still won't be to the point where players are actually being tackled and taken to the ground. NFL teams are limited in the number of full-contact practices they can have under the new collective bargaining agreement and that makes preseason games a lot more important in terms of evaluation.

"Our younger players may have to play longer in games so we can get a good look at them," Frazier said.

Second-year wide receiver Stephen Burton out of West Texas State returned to practice Monday morning after sitting out with a leg injury. Josh Robinson (hamstring) was on the field Monday but is being limited in what he can do.

Adrian Peterson, who is still on the physically unable to perform list, worked out on his own Monday morning.

The team has made one roster move since Saturday. Rookie Nicholas Taylor, a defensive back out of Florida International, was waived injured with a torn labrum. The Vikings then signed cornerback Chris Stroud out of Webber International to take his place. Taylor was viewed more as a special teamer while Stroud is being looked at more as a corner.

 Monday afternoon's practice with pads is scheduled to run from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.


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