Vikings' Adam Thielen returns to practice, has 'good plan' to try to play Sunday

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen said he could play Sunday against the Rams even if he were held out of practice all week again due to his sprained ankle. But he won't have to test that theory, as he returned to Wednesday's "walkthrough" practice as a limited participant.

Coach Mike Zimmer lightened the load on players during practice with a quicker turnaround from Monday night's 17-9 win in Chicago. Thielen said he would do more than walk through the walkthrough. He described his progress as "close" to playing against the Bears, but he learned during a brief pregame workout he still couldn't push off with the left ankle and accelerate to his standard.

"Excited about this week and being able to get out here and move around a little bit," Thielen said Wednesday. "I wasn't able to do that at all last week. It'll be nice to be able to move around a little bit and get a good plan to try to play on Sunday."

Wednesday marked Thielen's first on-field practice work since his left foot was pinned under Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs during the Dec. 5 win in Detroit. His ankle was wrapped in a compression bandage above the joint, indicating a high-ankle sprain, while speaking to reporters on Wednesday before the team practiced. Practicing is the desired first step.

"It's tough to go out there and work out [before kickoff] and just say, all right, I'm good without having a live defense and making some of those cuts that you have to make against a defender," Thielen said.

Thielen is hoping he's on a "faster track" to return than what's expected, which with a high-ankle sprain can be over a month. He's aiming to play after three weeks, a possibility he credits to a recovery routine that has him working inside and outside of TCO Performance Center to restore his ankle to health.

"I feel really good about where we're at," Thielen said. "I've got really good people around me that have been really helping me. I think we're on a faster track than most with this injury, so I'm excited about that and the opportunity to get out here and just get back to playing."

Quarterback Kirk Cousins is on an injury report for the first time with the Vikings. He's dealing with a rib injury after taking a season-high four sacks on Monday night, which limited him in practice. Cousins hadn't been on an NFL injury report since 2013 with Washington.

Guard Mason Cole (elbow) was the only active player sidelined Wednesday. The team promoted guard Dakota Dozier to the 53-man roster on Tuesday.

Breeland wasn't practicing as starter anymore

Cornerback Cameron Dantzler was already taking a "majority" of reps last week as a starting cornerback before Bashaud Breeland was released Saturday following a verbal altercation with coaches and teammates, according to co-coordinator Andre Patterson. Breeland had "some injury issues," Patterson said. But Breeland wasn't on the injury report last week until Saturday, when he was sent away from practice and listed with a "non-injury" designation.

Running back Dalvin Cook likened what happened to a "brawl in camp" and just trash talk, but sources have told the Star Tribune that general manager Rick Spielman had to step in and break things up.

"I guess y'all got all the reports about what happened, I don't know," Cook said. "It was football talk, that's what it was. Football talk. Whatever happened with Rick and all them, I don't know."

Mannion 'will make it,' Zimmer says

Days after Cleveland and Washington played with third-string quarterbacks because of COVID-19 outbreaks, Zimmer was insistent that wouldn't happen to the Vikings, citing backup quarterback Sean Mannion's vaccination. Mannion is obviously still at risk of testing positive and missing time under NFL protocols. But Mannion, like all vaccinated players, is no longer required to test weekly. He is subject to what the league is calling "targeted" testing based on daily symptom screening and random spot testing.

"That won't happen to us," Zimmer said. "Sean will make it."

'I'm on the hot seat?'

Zimmer was presented the notion that he's on the proverbial "hot seat" of coaching candidates to create openings in the NFL's yearly hiring cycle, when he cut off a reporter by asking, "I'm on the hot seat?" Well, if you read the odds at Las Vegas sportsbooks placing odds on such things.

"I don't have any thoughts on it," Zimmer said.

Etc.

-Linebacker Eric Kendricks said his ejection in Chicago was "a little harsh" after his flagged hit on Bears quarterback Justin Fields. He has been flagged just six times in seven NFL seasons. "I pride myself on playing clean," he said, "but it happened and I kind of didn't know what to do."

-Running back Alexander Mattison was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list and returned to practice. The Vikings have just two players isolated in receiver Dan Chisena and practice squad guard Kyle Hinton.