Vikings safety Harrison Smith said he's preparing as if he's going to play on Sunday against the Lions. He participated in the team's walkthrough on Wednesday.
"He did a lot this morning in the walkthrough, so I expect that he's probably going to play," head coach Mike Zimmer said.
Both Zimmer and Smith are optimistic after Smith suffered a sprained ankle in Thursday's 42-10 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field. He was walking around the locker room on Friday in crutches and a walking boot on his left foot.
"It's feeling better, just trying not to take any steps back and just get it better every day," Smith said.
Smith said he received extra treatment over the weekend and attempted to stay off his feet during the break. He still feels discomfort in the ankle but has attempted to work around it.
If Smith can't go, Andrew Sendejo would start with Robert Blanton at safety spots. Sendejo is the backup at both free and strong safety, playing a similar role he was in last season. He ended up starting 10 games with injuries to both Smith and Jamarca Sanford last year.
Sendejo has only had two snaps at safety this season, but he's ready to step in if Smith isn't ready to play.
"I'm not really worried about," Sendejo said. "I've done it before where I've had zero snaps at all and gone in and played. As the next guy up, you're always ready because any game you have to know both safety spots. If either one of those guys were to go down in a game, I have to go in and play for them. It's the same that I do every week."
