Vikings players had Monday off, but injured cornerback Antoine Winfield made a locker room cameo four weeks after his season ended in a 45-7 loss in Green Bay.
Winfield fractured his clavicle in that game, landing awkwardly after a tackle on tight end Jermichael Finley. He was placed on injured reserve the next day, had surgery soon after and continues to rehabilitate.
Winfield said he should be able to resume lifting weights in about two weeks and expects to be at full strength around April.
Meanwhile, he remains frustrated that the Vikings' skid continues.
"No one expected this season to go the way it's gone," he said. "The guys are still out there working hard. They have three games left. But it's been tough."
Winfield paused and asked reporters how many losses the team now had. Reminded the Vikings were 2-11, he recoiled.
"Ooh," he said. "That's pretty bad."
Burton's season overReceiver Stephen Burton will join Winfield and seven other Vikings on injured reserve this week. Burton's season ended in the first half in Detroit when he injured the medial collateral ligament in his knee. Burton will not need surgery. But with only three games left, the timeline for the rookie's return left the Vikings with only one logical option.