The sight of watching Cordarrelle Patterson jog around during this morning's walkthrough was an encouraging sign for the Vikings, but the second-year wide receiver is still on the way back.

Head coach Mike Zimmer indicated that Patterson will "probably stay with the walkthroughs for maybe another day," leading one to guess the team plans to hold Patterson from practice until after Tuesday's off day, but there is still a chance he could suit up for Monday night's practice.

"It's feeling a lot better than it did last week so I hope here soon," Patterson said. "I hope I can practice tomorrow. It's whatever the trainers say. I'll just be in the training room trying to get better."

Patterson said he injured his left foot while training in California last week. As soon as he reported to Minnesota, he took the injury straight to Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman.

"It was just overtraining," said Patterson, who scored nine total touchdowns in his rookie season. "I felt like I was running too many routes and I just kept going and tweaked my foot a little bit."

Yesterday afternoon, Patterson was spotted jogging on the far field while his teammates practiced at Minnesota State Mankato. He then walked over to watch them from the sideline.

"It's real tough being on the sideline, just watching those guys doing the things you wish you could do," Patterson said. "But I feel like I'm getting mental reps and not missing anything."

The Vikings initially said it was a minor injury, and the fact that he didn't start out training camp on the PUP list suggested they weren't bluffing. Zimmer is not requiring him to pass the conditioning test once Patterson is healthy. Patterson chuckled when asked about getting off the hook.

"I could do the conditioning test today if I wanted to," he said. "I could do that backwards."