Vikings notes: Project at tackle believes he's improving

Babatunde Aiyegbusi is the very definition of an NFL project. The 6-9, 340-pound offensive tackle is 27 years old and has played professionally in Germany and Poland; he was signed by the Vikings so he could go through training camp and get his trial by fire.

So far so … good?

"The game is slowing down every single practice," Aiyegbusi said Wednesday. "I feel like I'm doing good; I still make some mistakes, have to get better. Hopefully I will gain enough trust to stay on the team."

Aiyegbusi's claim to "fame" so far is a holding penalty in Saturday's preseason victory over Oakland that forced the Vikings to kick a 43-yard extra point.

His chances of making the team, despite season-ending injuries to Phil Loadholt and Carter Bykowski, are slim. The Vikings could put him on the 10-man practice squad if he is cut and clears waivers, but that also could be a long shot.

For now, Aiyegbusi is enjoying his time in Minnesota.

"I used to travel a lot, so it's kind of a new trip for me," he said. "I've met a lot of great people who have tried to help me out with everything I'm doing."

"I've never, ever played middle linebacker — never thought I'd be playing middle linebacker," he said.

No worries, coach Mike Zimmer said.

"I don't know how tough it is, honestly. When I was in college, I had a nose tackle move there and he played pretty good," Zimmer said.

"He's a guy who has a lot of acceleration, he's got some physicality to him and I just thought it would be good to give him an opportunity and see what it looks like."

Hodges, a second-year pro out of Penn State, said he hopes to step up.

Zimmer, meanwhile, said Kendricks is working on his patience.

"He's kind of a high-strung kid anyway so he always wants to get to the ball, but there's times where has to be a little more patient if he's behind the play as opposed to over-running it," Zimmer said. "You'd much rather always say, 'whoa' than 'go' to guys, and so he's a guy that you've just got to slow him down just a little bit."

Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen, a second-year player who had an arthroscopic knee procedure earlier this month, was back at practice Wednesday in a limited capacity. Stephen should be ready for the start of the regular season, Zimmer said.

Center John Sullivan (back) also missed practice, as he has for a week. So did tight end MyCole Pruitt (knee) and cornerback Josh Robinson (pectoral).

• The Vikings will have to cut to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon. "We'll start thinking about that more Sunday after the game," Zimmer said. "[There's a] possibility of injuries, there are other reasons too — we've got to play another game, injuries, things like that."