Harvin's return is up in the air

Chad Courrier here, just back at the computer after spending an hour in the Minnesota State fieldhouse, watching some special teams drills. The sun was coming out by the end of practice, and a two-hour afternoon practice is scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m.

Coach Brad Childress acknowledged the reports that Percy Harvin's delay in returning to camp is due, in part, to a continuing struggle with migraine headaches. Harvin first left camp nine days ago because of the death of his grandmother, and Childress said he's back in Minnesota.

"God willing, he's going to work though this," Childress said. "The only thing that would be (a concern) is if we quit trying to find things and throw our hands up."

Because of Harvin's absence, and Sidney Rice is on the physically-unable-to-perform list, the Vikings, who were down to eight receivers, had a workout for two receivers Tuesday and signed Freddie Brown, a seventh-round draft choice by Cincinnati in 2009. The Vikings waived rookie safety Terrell Skinner to make a roster spot.

"We were running the legs off (the receivers)," Childress said.

Check back for more information following the afternoon practice. The team is expected to practice in full pads for some live tackling, which often leads to some news.

Where's the offense?

This is Chad Courrier, and it dawned on me while watching Friday's morning practice that what is generally considered to be an explosive offense is missing a lot of weapons.

Receiver Percy Harvin is gone from camp to deal with the death of a family member, and receiver Sidney Rice has missed all of camp with a hip injury. Adrian Peterson hasn't practiced for two days because of tightness in his legs, and you-know-who is still in Mississippi, contrary to various rumors, waiting to see if his ankle feels good enough to play.

That's a lot of firepower that isn't on the field, getting ready for the upcoming season. Only receiver Bernard Berrian and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe are projected starters who are practicing now.

Coach Brad Childress said he's not so concerned because all of those players are veterans and should have knowledge of what's being done at practice. But he also said you never make up the lost time at training camp.

It's uncertain when Harvin will return or Rice will be ready, and it wouldn't be surprising is Peterson stayed out until Monday, given that the players are off Sunday. And Favre ... I think we've seen over the last two days that we should't guess if or when he arrives.

NFL officials joined practice Friday morning. They also met with the media and will attend the afternoon practice and team meetings. The officials are here to share the rule changes and points of emphasis for the season.

Shiancoe and Greg Lewis each made nice catches during two-minute drills. Tarvaris Jackson was the most accurate of the quarterbacks. Rhys Lloyd drilled a 49-yard field goal that had plenty of extra distance.

Running backs were the designated autograph signers Friday, and not surprising, Adrian Peterson's line began forming shortly after morning practice began. A couple hundred autograph seekers stood in line for more than an hour, and Toby Gerhart's line also had an overflow before practice ended.

Oh yes, there was football at training camp

This is Chad Courrier. After spending a couple of sweaty hours Tuesday standing alongside the fields at Minnesota State, watching various media members working their PDAs to try get the Brett Favre story, there were actaully some things that happened at practice.

The Vikings were in pads Tuesday morning for the first full-contact practice of training camp. The star of the goal-line drills was safety Jamarca Sanford, who broke through the line to stuff running back Ian Johnson on consecutive plays.

Then the offense tried to fake the dive play and throw to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, but linebacker Kenny Onatolu leaped to tip the pass away.

When the No. 1 offense line played against the No. 1 defensive line, rookie Toby Gerhart made a strong run behind right tackle Phil Loadholt and right guard Anthony Herrera. On the next play, going left, safety Husain Abdullah stuffed Gerhart in the backfield.

Earlier, Gerhart took a big shot from Jasper Brinkley in a short-yardage drill.

Rookie quarterback Joe Webb fumbled his first snap during the goal-line practice, and somebody from the defensive sideline noticed. "Don't get nervous back there, 14."

E.J. Henderson caught a deflected pass for an interception, and as he ran down the field, someone in the crowd yelled, "Nice to have you back."

Coach Brad Childress (pictured -- yes, he did answer a non-Favre question) noted that running backs Ryan Moats and Darius Reynaud looked good carrying the football in short-yardage plays.

Will be back on the field for afternoon practice, though after a physical morning, it's unlikely much of note will happen. Unless someone says they got a call from someone who knows someone who talked with Favre.

(Photo by John Cross)

Childress opens camp with news conference

This is Chad Courrier, reporting back after coach Brad Childress' press conference to begin the Minnesota Vikings training camp. Check back in a couple of hours for Jim Rueda's observations on the first practice.

Childress said that the players took the field earlier Friday for some special teams work and other group drills, just "to knock the rust off." He said it looked like the players were in great shape, judging by the players' check-in weights. The team no longer conducts a conditioning test before the first practice.

"Everybody here has a sense of unfinished business," Childress said. "Based on the offseason these guys have had, we're going to have a good football team."

Cornerback Cedric Griffin and receiver Sidney Rice will open camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, meaning they can work out on the practice fields but not with the team. Griffin is recovering from knee surgery, while Rice has a hip injury. It's expected that Rice might be the first of the two to get fully activated.

Linebacker E.J. Henderson, who broke his leg last season, has been cleared to practice, though Childress said they'll take it slowly with contact drills.

Running back Toby Gerhart signed Friday, meaning all the signed players, except for Brett Favre, will be here.

As for Favre, Childress said there is no news. "He'll make his decision, and I can live with it, either way," Childress said. "I'd love to have him here. It's something he's wrestling with right now."

The lightest moment of the press conference came when Childress was asked about the weight loss by defensive tackle Pat Williams. He's still "big enough to eat hay and (crap) in the street. I don't know how he lost 18 pounds, but I'm glad he did."