Berrian appears to hurt hamstring; Harvin held out

INDIANAPOLIS — Wide receiver Bernard Berrian declined to comment as he left the Vikings locker room Friday night, but the way he was walking spoke volumes.

Berrian, who suffered what appeared to be an injury to his right hamstring while blocking on a run play in the first quarter, moved extremely gingerly as he made his way toward the team bus. Berrian later tweeted that "I'll be OK in due time," in response to questions from fans.

Vikings coach Brad Childress did not have an update on Berrian other than to say he will be evaluated today. "That's always tough," Vikings receiver Bobby Wade said of Berrian getting hurt. "You hate to see injuries in the preseason. I'm not even sure exactly what it was or the problem is, but all I know is he was limping and it looked pretty serious. I hope we get him back as soon as possible."

Given Berrian is known for his speed, a hamstring injury certainly has to be a serious concern. In his first season with the Vikings in 2008, Berrian led the team with 964 receiving yards and tied for the team lead with seven touchdowns.

Meanwhile, first-round pick Percy Harvin was held out of the game as a precautionary measure after the wide receiver injured his shoulder in the team's practice Wednesday morning in Mankato.

Harvin, who is expected to be used in a variety of ways by the Vikings on offense and also likely will return kickoffs, was hurt when he caught a pass between two safeties and fell to the ground awkwardly. "[I was] just erring on the side of caution with he and Brian Robison and expect everybody to get back and play next week" against Kansas City, Childress said.

Harvin, who battled injury issues in college, came out for warmups on Friday but ended up standing on the sideline without a helmet during the game.

Robison missed several days because of a hamstring issue, and the Vikings did not want to take any chances. Nose tackle Pat Williams (rest) also got the night off. Tight end Garrett Mills (shoulder) was the only Vikings player who was not in uniform.

The Vikings' top defense, expected to be among the NFL's best, was impressive in its one series, sacking Colts quarterback Peyton Manning three times. Defensive ends Ray Edwards and Jared Allen and defensive tackle Fred Evans all recorded sacks. Evans started in place of Pat Williams.

Edwards pointed to the return of middle linebacker E.J. Henderson as a key. Henderson's season ended in the fourth game in 2008 when he suffered a foot injury. "We got our brains back in E.J." Edwards said. "We got our team back. We've got the heart, which is Kevin and Pat [Williams], so we're good. Everybody else is the arms and the legs. We're just ready to go to work."

• Running back Adrian Peterson had four carries on the opening drive for 20 yards before being lifted. "I definitely wanted to get out there a little bit more and get a couple more carries, maybe catch the ball," Peterson said, before adding that he understood why he wasn't allowed to play longer.

• Cornerback Benny Sapp played with the first team in the nickel defense. Sapp assumed the role in the nickel last season after Charles Gordon was hurt in November, but he has been competing with several cornerbacks for the spot, including rookie Asher Allen and Marcus McCauley. When the Vikings did go to the nickel package, linebacker Ben Leber came out.

• Running back Albert Young, who spent last season on the Vikings practice squad, rushed for 58 yards on a game-high 14 carries and caught three passes.

• Wide receiver Jaymar Johnson is atop the depth chart at punt returner, and he received plenty of chances to show he should remain there Friday. Johnson returned six punts for an 8.3-yard average.