Vikings hurting, hunting at safety

MANKATO - Vikings coach Brad Childress acknowledged Tuesday that safety Madieu Williams is likely to miss an extended period because of a neck injury.

Nonetheless, the veteran is said to feel extremely fortunate. People with knowledge of the situation say doctors told Williams his injury could have been far worse and perhaps even career-ending. The Vikings have yet to divulge the exact nature of the problem, but it's believed to be a nerve issue.

Williams, signed to a six-year, $33 million free-agent contract in March after four seasons with Cincinnati, is expected to miss six weeks.

He was not available to comment Tuesday, but fellow starting safety Darren Sharper has talked to his teammate.

"You never want to see a guy be out, you want to have him out there playing each and every day, and I know Madieu wants to be out there because he loves to play football and he's that type of competitor," Sharper said. "But, in saying that, it's the nature of the NFL, the nature of playing football. Guys are going to get hurt."

Childress refused to put a timetable on how long Williams will be out, saying, "What did I see [in the newspaper]? Four weeks, five weeks, six weeks. We just don't know. I don't know. I'm not clairvoyant."

A six-week absence would mean Williams would not return until the fourth game of the regular season. The Vikings could look outside the organization for help -- Oakland released veteran safety Greg Wesley this week -- or turn to rookie second-round pick Tyrell Johnson.

Childress said he feels his team is "OK" at the safety position and doesn't expect to sign someone to play opposite Sharper. That means Johnson almost certainly would start in the Vikings' first three games against Green Bay, Indianapolis and Carolina.

Johnson missed a second day of practice Tuesday because of an abdominal strain but hopes to return today. He started Friday's preseason opener against Seattle in place of Williams and saw extensive action. Johnson hopes to be able to play Saturday night at Baltimore in the Vikings' second exhibition game.

The Vikings' other safeties include veteran Michael Boulware, Dee McCann, Eric Frampton and Husain Abdullah. Frampton, whose greatest value is on special teams, is getting the most work with the first team with Williams and Johnson out.

Johnson said Tuesday he feels "well prepared" to assume a starting role. "All I have to do is just learn a few things about the free safety and I'll jump right in there if they need me to," he said.

It really isn't that easy.

Johnson has been working as the No. 2 strong safety to Sharper, but in the Tampa-2 scheme the Vikings run the safety positions are interchangeable. "It's been tough. It's just a mental strain because there are so many plays and so many gaps you've got to remember on every play," Johnson said of making the adjustment from Arkansas State to the Vikings.

Sharper expressed confidence in Johnson and said the key thing for him will be to make sure he's in the proper position. "With what we like to do, we have to make sure everyone is in a certain area and you have a certain area you have to cover," Sharper said. "You never have to do anyone else's job.

"That's probably the main thing. Being a star player in college, a lot of times you're asked to do a lot more things. Here in the NFL, with the defense that we have, you just need to do your job and everything will take care of itself."

As for Williams, it still remains unclear when he got hurt. Childress said he has a "pretty good idea" of when it happened but didn't get into specifics.

Sharper, for one, isn't concerned about when it happened but rather when Williams will return. Sharper has even offered Williams the use of his hyperbaric oxygen chamber to expedite the recovery process.

"I told him I'd let him get in my hyperbaric chamber as much as he wants to get in it," Sharper said. "He has one so he's just waiting for his to get fixed. I said, 'Until yours gets fixed, get in mine and sleep as long as you can because we need you back.'"