Vikings running back Ben Tate participated in his second practice in purple on Friday, and head coach Mike Zimmer said he's catching on quickly to the offense. He's
"He's got some explosiveness hitting the hole and obviously he's a big-bodied guy," Zimmer said. "He's done a good job with protection so far. So we'll see how it goes."
The Vikings might have to rely on Tate against the Packers with running back Matt Asiata likely out with a concussion. He'll only have three days to become acclimated with the playbook, and his teammates, if the Vikings do activate him on Sunday.
"I've never been in this type of situation before," Tate said. "So just try to interact with everybody as much as I can and get to know everybody as much as I can so I can get comfortable and they can get comfortable with me faster."
Tate isn't sure how much his comfort with his other teammates will help his play if he serves as rookie running back Jerrick McKinnon's backup, with Joe Banyard as another option, but he's mainly concerned with understanding his assignments when the Vikings need him in the backfield.
"I've got to all focus on football and let everything else happen," said Tate, dealing with the hectic off-the-field ramifications of switching teams during the middle of the season. "Whatever I got to do outside of that is secondary. The first thing is making sure I understand my plays and just coming out here ready to go, full speed, and being ready to help in any aspect needed."
