Vikings' Garrett Bradbury still not practicing; Justin Jefferson defends Kirk Cousins

Vikings center Garrett Bradbury remained sidelined during Thursday's practice as he continues to deal with lower back tightness that has kept him out since the Dec. 4 win over the Jets.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins took snaps from center Austin Schlottmann during the portion of practice open to reporters. Schlottmann could get his fourth start on Sunday in Green Bay, which offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said is valuable experience for their depth.

"If you ask Austin, he'd tell you there's a lot of stuff I can get better at, which is what you want," Phillips said. "But like I said early on, we have all the confidence in the world in Austin. We see him as a starting-caliber player in this league and his communication has been really high level. There's obviously some technique things and some plays that we need to clean up."

Defensive lineman James Lynch, whom head coach Kevin O'Connell already ruled out for Sunday due to a shoulder injury, also did not practice. Left guard Ezra Cleveland remained limited by a shoulder injury. Cornerback Cameron Dantzler (ankle) is no longer listed on the injury report.

Receiver Justin Jefferson took to Twitter early Thursday morning to respond to a video of ESPN commentators debating the Vikings as Super Bowl contenders with Cousins. Jefferson wrote, "All of the Kirk criticism has to stop!! I understand y'all hate the dad swag but come on his numbers are right with y'all's MVP candidates."

On Thursday afternoon, Jefferson was asked about defending Cousins publicly.

"It's not really too much about us being out in public about it," Jefferson said. "Just the amount of work he's been putting in, everybody want to make jokes about him and stuff like that and always talk about him. But his numbers is showing differently. ... He's doing whatever he needs to do in order for his team to win and we're definitely standing behind him."

Jefferson, leading the league with 1,756 receiving yards — 208 yards shy of Calvin Johnson's NFL single-season record — is set to face a Packers defense he lit up for nine catches, 184 yards and two touchdowns in September. Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander told Green Bay reporters that Jefferson is among his top three NFL receivers, but he downplayed the first game between the teams.

"He don't jump in no super suit and get dressed and jump outside," Alexander said. "I don't either, sometimes. But like he's human, is what I'm saying. ... He's a really good receiver, but at the end of the day, I'm a really good corner. We got really good corners. ... You don't want to put too much focus on that one person, because it's like the first game that was a fluke."

On film, cornerback Patrick Peterson has seen an improved Packers offense, which could be a bigger challenge than the season-opening version the Vikings beat 23-7 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Peterson cited Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' increased rapport with rookie receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.

"It's going to be two totally different teams," Peterson said. "One had high expectations, the other one didn't [entering Week 1]. So, it's kind of reverse roles right now. We're expecting to get this team's best shot. We know they have a fighting opportunity for a playoff spot."

Watson scored eight touchdowns in a four-game span, but was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday due to a hip injury. Watson told Green Bay reporters he "wouldn't be mad" if Packers head coach Matt LaFleur went back to the play in which he dropped a wide-open deep ball after running past Peterson in the Vikings' Week 1 win.

"Now that he's catching the ball a little bit better," Peterson said with a chuckle, "Aaron is definitely trusting him."