James keeps focus on healthy future over injured past

Erasmus James isn't overcome with feelings of hopelessness or self-pity as he puts in the long hours of rehabilitation required to return from the knee injury that ended his 2006 season. Experience has taught him it's far more effective to focus on the positive that can come from a difficult situation.

"This happened to me my junior year in college, and look at what happened my senior year," said James, who redshirted in 2003 at Wisconsin because of a hip injury. "It's pretty much the same thing. Just some obstacles in life that God has for you; you've just got to overcome them."

The defensive end certainly did that in 2004 with the Badgers, earning All-America honors. His performance helped him become the 18th player picked in the 2005 NFL draft. This time James is confident he will be able to return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee suffered in the second game last year.

Just how soon he gets back is the question. Vikings coach Brad Childress said in March that James is a candidate for the physically unable to perform list when training camp begins in July. James knows he won't be ready for the June 1-3 minicamp but is hopeful he can avoid the PUP scenario.

"The doctor originally said [I'd be ready for] training camp," James said Thursday while attending the "Kids in the City" event for Boys and Girls Club members at the Vikings' Winter Park complex. "He still feels that's good. But you've just got to take it one step at a time. You can't really put a timetable on it. You have to wait and see how you feel. You try and come back too fast, something could be messed up and it even takes longer to get back."

James' return could be the key to improving a pass rush that finished tied for 25th in the NFL last season with 30 sacks while missing its starting right end. The lack of consistent pressure on the quarterback also contributed to Vikings finishing tied for last in the league in pass defense.

Besides rehabilitating at Winter Park, James also is taking trips every six weeks to Vail, Colo., to be examined by Dr. Richard Steadman. He performed the initial surgery on James' knee in November and then did some minor follow-up work in February.

James is able to run in a pool of water -- he hasn't started doing on-the-field running or cutting yet -- and his next appointment with Steadman is in about "three to four weeks." While having to undergo a second procedure might have been considered bad news, James actually feels that helped with his recovery.

"[Since that] second time when I got back from the doctors, everything started coming a lot smoother, started feeling a lot better," he said. "It was just some clean-up work, some scar tissue. The doctor said I was healing a little bit too fast, which sometimes you think that's a good thing. But at the same time, you've got to go a certain route. You can't just heal too fast. Otherwise, things get kind of messed up."

Notes

• The Vikings released cornerback Sergio Gilliam, a rookie free agent who participated in their rookie minicamp last weekend.

• James and former Viking Alan Page, a state Supreme Court justice, recently were recognized for their community service and promoting of reading in the African-American community. Page, James, and Vikings Matt Birk, Jayme Mitchell and Kenechi Udeze attended Thursday's event.

Staff writer Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com