Mike Zimmer may not be able to fully see out of his right eye at this point, but his peripheral vision and left eye are working just fine.
Zimmer, who turned 61 years old Monday, made his return to Winter Park this week after a couple weeks away to continue mending his surgically-repaired retina. During Vikings practice Tuesday, he watched over both offensive and defensive drills. His vision good enough to call out defensive tackle Shamar Stephen from about 40 yards away while overseeing a different drill.
"The retina looks great," Zimmer said Tuesday. "[Doctors] are going to check it again in a couple weeks. I still can't fly or do any of that kind of stuff, but right now it's probably the best reports I've had since all this stuff started."
Zimmer met with his eye doctor Sunday before getting the clearance to return to practice Monday, which started the final week of Organized Team Activities. The Vikings head coach has instruction to be careful in his return to work.
After Tuesday, the Vikings have five more practices left in the offseason program before breaking for five weeks ahead of training camp.
"Moderation was the term he used," Zimmer said of his doctor. "Pressure is good. Bubble is dissolving, the retina is in good shape, so really all he said was just be smart."
He described the oxygen bubble, used to hold his repaired retina in place, as if he was trying to see through a "glass of water" while looking straight ahead.
"It's hard to see through the bubble," he said. "Above the bubble I can see, below the bubble I can see. Vision is pretty good. I can see decent. It's annoying sometimes when you're seeing a glass a water over here."
