With the white eye bandage removed, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday he's simply "good to go" after his latest follow-up appointment with doctors to review his surgically-repaired right eye.
This came a day after Zimmer said there was "still a lot to be determined" with his recovery from a fourth operation last week to repair a detached retina. Zimmer declined to get into details, but did not appear concerned Wednesday when asked whether he'd need to take precautions on Sunday in Jacksonville, such as coaching from the booth.
"I don't know, the doctors talked to me about something," Zimmer said. "Let's talk about Jacksonville."
He didn't immediately persuade reporters, who were interviewing Zimmer for the first time since his emergency surgery last week. Zimmer fielded one more question about his eye, briefly addressing how it felt to miss the first game of his 23-year NFL coaching career.
"I really want to talk about Jacksonville," Zimmer said. "You put all the work in and the reason why you do these things is for game day, so that's the difficult part of not being able to be with the team that you're trying to prepare. I think Jacksonville is really good on defense."
So, they're on to Jacksonville.
Smith 'tough guy'
The Vikings are holding out hope that safety Harrison Smith's sprained left ankle isn't severe enough to end his season, but his chances of playing Sunday don't appear good.
Smith and defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (knee), who hasn't played since the opener, were the only Vikings players held out of Wednesday's practice. Smith has been limited by an ankle sprain since the Nov. 20 loss in Arizona.