Leslie Frazier said safety Mistral Raymond could return to the playing field as early as Nov. 4 when the Vikings travel to Seattle for a Week 9 game. Raymond has returned to practice in a limited capacity the past two days as he works back from an ankle dislocation that he suffered Sept. 23 against San Francisco.

Frazier said he's encouraged by Raymond's progress and that the Vikings hope to work him back into the starting lineup as soon as he's back at 100 percent.

Frazier also gave Jerome Simpson a "so far, so good" approval rating after the past two days of practice, noting that the speedy receiver seems to be past his back injury.

"He's had two good days," Frazier said. "He looks good. He's moving good, in and out of his breaks, catching all the balls. So it's encouraging. Very encouraging."

Frazier also noted that while running back Adrian Peterson (ankle) and defensive end Jared Allen (groin) both sat out Thursday's practice, there is no worry about their availability for Sunday's game with Arizona.

"It's just more making sure they're ready to go for Sunday so they can play at a high speed," Frazier said.

Other players who were limited in Thursday's practice were Antoine Winfield (knee), Robert Blanton (hamstring) and Marvin Mitchell (calf).

In other news, defensive end Everson Griffen will travel back to Arizona tonight to attend the funeral for his mother, Sabrina Scott, who passed away in the middle of last week while visiting Griffen here in the Twin Cities. General Manager Rick Spielman will also attend the funeral proceedings. And Griffen is hoping to return to Minneapolis on Saturday night in order to be ready for Sunday's game.

"Our hearts go out to he and his family," Frazier said.