The Vikings will hold another late-morning practice today at Winter Park as they get ready for their final preseason game on Thursday night against Denver.

That will be the last media access until Thursday. The team will have a walk-through on Wednesday and then be off Friday before starting preparations for the regular-season opener a week from Thursday against New Orleans.

No word yet on the Vikings schedule leading up to that game but I would expect they will practice Saturday, have Sunday off and practice Monday and Tuesday before going through the walk-through and deparating for New Orleans on Wednesday.

Coach Brad Childress said whether he plays his starters at all against the Broncos will depend on how the two full practices go this week, but my guess is Brett Favre and Co. won't play a down at Mall of America Field at the Metrodome.

A few other notes:

  • The Vikings will have to cut their roster from 79 players to 75 today. The final cut to 53 will come Saturday. Minnesota already got a start on Monday when linebacker J Leman was waived/injured.
  • It sounds as if wide receiver Sidney Rice will return from Vail, Colo., in the next few days and could be back today. Rice underwent hip surgery last week at the Steadman Clinic and has been doing rehab work.
  • Mark Craig had an interesting column today on whether Sage Rosenfels might be the best option to serve as Brett Favre's backup. The Vikings have yet to tip their hand on how many quarterbacks they plan to carry or if they plan to try to move one in a trade. Rosenfels would be the most likely to be dealt but checking with NFL sources it doesn't sound as if there have been any trade discussions involving the veteran to this point.
  • As players begin hitting the waiver wire in the coming days it will be interesting to see if the Vikings pick up an offensive linemen. Watching the team this preseason, I don't see a lot of quality depth among the backups and wouldn't be surprised at all if the Vikings decide to try and upgrade so they have some insurance. Word is the team is looking at giving rookie guard Chris DeGeare some practice reps at tackle. DeGeare played left tackle at Wake Forest last season after playing three years at guard. At this point, if something happened to Bryant McKinnie the best bet is the Vikings would move Phil Loadholt over from right tackle and plug in a different player on the right side.