The good news: Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson was back at practice Thursday afternoon. The bad news: due to gusty winds, the team moved its workout indoors – from natural grass on to turf. And that move, head coach Leslie Frazier said, might not have been the best-case scenario for Henderson to see marked improvement in the swollen left knee that's been hindering him.

"He's still a little tender," Frazier said after Thursday's practice. "We'll see how he does tomorrow."

Henderson's knee has bothered him going all the way back to last season. The injury hasn't caused him to miss any game action. But Frazier did express at least some concern Thursday that Henderson's knee is proving so troublesome so early in the season, forcing him to miss or be a limited participant through significant chunks of practice time.

"I don't remember him this early having to miss as much time as he's missed right now," Frazier said. "I'd have to go back and look. But I remember late in the year, we could see things were changing (with the knee). But not this early."

For now, the Vikings are hoping they can manage Henderson's soreness with good old-fashioned rest.

"I'm hoping we don't get into a situation where we have to have his knee drained periodically," Frazier said. "I'm hoping that through rest and our monitoring his reps that he'll get better over time. That's what we're hoping for."

INJURY UPDATE: In addition to Henderson, other limited participants in Thursday's practice were running back Adrian Peterson, safety Tyrell Johnson and tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Others who were listed on Thursday's injury report but practiced in full were cornerbacks Asher Allen (toe) and Chris Cook (groin), defensive tackle Kevin Williams (foot) and safety Jamarca Sanford (thigh).

IN NEED OF A STRETCH: It's no secret that the Vikings' passing attack needs resuscitation. Through three games, they rank dead last in the NFC in passing at 143.0 yards per game. And their leading receiver, Michael Jenkins, has just 143 receiving yards overall, which ranks 63rd in the NFL, right between Cleveland's Mohamed Massaquoi and Detroit's Titus Young. That's not exactly the start of a star-studded receiving fraternity.

Meanwhile, Bernard Berrian's disappearance continues to be one of the great mysteries of the early season. Berrian has one 17-yard catch for the entire season, leaving much of the fan base to give up hope of a potential resurgence. Still, Frazier expressed support for his receiving corps, believing the team has enough weapons to stretch the field.

"In order for our offense to reach its maximum potential, we need to be able to stretch the field," Frazier said. "And we feel like Bernard is one of those guys who can do it. This would be a great week for that to happen. Between the three – Bernard, Michael and Devin (Aromashodu) – we think we have the guys on the outside that should be able to make a play for us."

To this point, that belief seems unfounded.