There aren't many things that can make a 2-10 coach feel better. But having quarterback Christian Ponder and running back Adrian Peterson both practicing during Friday's light workout did the trick for Vikings coach Leslie Frazier.
"That was encouraging that both of those guys were able to get some work," said Frazier, who listed both players as questionable for Sunday's game at Detroit.
For Ponder, it was his first on-field work since suffering a hip pointer in last Sunday's loss to the Broncos.
"He still has some soreness, but being able to see him drop back, deliver the ball, having his accuracy, moving around a little bit, that was encouraging because yesterday he was pretty stiff," Frazier said. "His movement was much better today. So we'll see how he feels today when he's throwing the ball around. But really encouraged by some of his movement today."
Peterson practiced on Thursday. He came of the field with a bit of a limp and admitted he was sore because of yesterday's workout, his first since suffering a high left ankle sprain against the Raiders three weeks ago. He's also missed the past two games because of the injury.
"I've made some cuts, but one thing I do know is I won't be cutting as hard as I do when I am 100 percent," Peterson said. "I would say I'm probably about 80 percent right now. That's a big improvement throughout this week. I feel like I can cut pretty good. I've made cuts going both directions. We'll just have to wait and see."
Frazier said he's seen enough of Peterson the past two days that he'll be able to make a decision on him after seeing how the ankle responds overnight to today's workout. As for Ponder, Frazier said he probably would want to put him through a workout at Ford Field before the game on Sunday morning.
"With Christian, the fact that today was his first day, if we decided to go forward with him, we'd probably want to see him move around again after a slow day tomorrow," Frazier said.
