Harvin favors ankle in drills

Percy Harvin was running at Vikings practice Wednesday.

Just not very quickly.

Wearing no visible wrap or brace on his sprained left ankle, Harvin ran pass-receiving routes during individual drills during the portion of practice open to reporters. He went into and out of cuts very gingerly and was limping at the end of every route. He also was visibly upset that he wasn't able to run better at this point.

Harvin sprained the ankle Nov. 4, at which point he was the NFL's leading receiver, and has missed two games.

Coach Leslie Frazier said before practice that Harvin went through drills with the team's trainers Tuesday, and would increase his work Wednesday. Harvin didn't talk to reporters after practice.

Running back Adrian Peterson (shoulder strain) had a limited number of practice reps.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph didn't practice because of a shoulder strain. But he and safety Harrison Smith have been cleared from the concussions they suffered on Sunday.

"Once I got into the locker room I felt pretty normal," Smith said. "Even the tests we did there, I passed. And I felt normal after the game. They just had to take the necessary precautions."

Allen fined Defensive end Jared Allen was fined $21,000 for his blindside hit on Bears guard Lance Louis in Sunday's game.

Antoine Winfield was returning an interception for the Vikings when Allen left his feet and leveled Lewis, who suffered a season-ending left knee injury on the play.

Bears coach Lovie Smith was critical of the hit, saying "I think our game could do without that play."

There was no penalty, and after the game Allen said, "I threw myself into him, just like we're taught."

So why did Jerome Simpson look so subdued in the locker room?

"I'm obviously down, because I'm used to making those plays," he said.

Simpson had three drops of Christian Ponder passes in Sunday's 28-10 loss and said he was affected by a difficult day.

"We talked a little bit," Frazier said. "We've got to move on. We know he's more than capable of making plays for us. We need him to do that this week."

Simpson has dealt with leg soreness the team said was connected to a back issue, and has only 12 catches for 138 yards and no touchdowns. Simpson insisted again Wednesday that he is 100 percent healthy. He had 50 catches for 725 yards and four TDs last year with Cincinnati.