Mike Zimmer threw a giant bucket of calm the heck down on any notion of Kyle Sloter and his 137.1 preseason passer rating unseating Sean Mannion as the primary backup to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Asked if another statistically strong preseason has moved Sloter any closer to Mannion, the Vikings coach said, "I don't know. I don't know that you guys [media] know all the little details about what you see in how he goes and does the game.
"He's got to get a lot better in a lot of the other parts of being a quarterback. Making the right checks, getting people in the right formation, making sure the motion is there, not missing the time clock when it's 8 yards in front of you. There's a lot of things he has to get better at if he wants to be the backup quarterback."
Sloter, a third-year pro with nary an NFL regular-season snap to his credit, has completed 85% of his preseason passes (17 of 20) with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mannion, who has played 10 games with 53 passes and one start in four years with the Rams, has completed 66.7% of his preseason passes (18 of 27) with two touchdowns, one interception and a 96.2 passer rating.
Joseph returns to team drills
Walking off the practice field Tuesday after going through team drills for the first time this summer, Linval Joseph finally opened up about his offseason road to recovery and how he's not only back to full strength, but "Way stronger than I was last year."
The Vikings starting nose tackle, who had offseason shoulder surgery, thanked the Vikings medical, strength and athletic training staffs for bringing him back, at age 30, from what he called the toughest season he's endured physically in what's now a 10-year NFL career.
"Last year, after Week 5, when Danielle [Hunter] hit me in my leg, I want to say that was the hardest season I ever had to play," Joseph said. "Just my whole leg, my whole arm [hurting], I fought through it. I did it for my guys and gave it everything I had.
"I think the [rehab] stuff I was doing off the field [to come back] was way harder than practice. So to be back out here actually is a relief."