By Joseph Gunther
Adrian Peterson is not walking through the door to play again this season. Matt Asiata suffered a concussion and has not practice this week. Jerick McKinnon has been absent from or limited in practice this week with a lower back injury.
That left Joe Banyard as the only 100 percent healthy running back on the active roster. So, the Minnesota Vikings claimed Ben Tate off waivers from the Cleveland Browns. He got his second practice with the Vikings in on Friday.
Tate’s status, like most of the other running backs, is unknown for Sunday. He is healthy, but has had only a couple days to learn offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s play book
“He practiced some (Thursday),” head coach Mike Zimmer said about Tate. “He got some reps and was in the blitz pickup. He was in everything, so we’ll see how fast he gets. It was a quick day for him.”
The Vikings expect both McKinnon and Tate to share the carries Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at TCF Bank Stadium. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner still sees McKinnon as the team’s No. 1 back.
“We’re excited about Jerick and what he’s done and I see him as our running back,” he said.
Tate excelled as a backup for the Houston Texans, but he signed with the Browns to be their primary ball carrier during the offseason. However, he was passed on the depth chart by rookie third round draft pick Terrance West and undrafted rookie Isaiah Crowell in recent weeks.
Tate, a fifth-year veteran, has 2,325 yards and 14 touchdowns in 527 carries over his career. He also has 347 receiving yards. In his last three games, Tate has 28 yards on22 career, including two rushes for minus-nine yards in Week 11.
Along with the running backs, the Vikings may not have starting defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd. The second-year first round draft pick was downgraded from limited participant in Wednesday’s practice to non-participant in Thursday’s and Friday’s practices.
“We don’t know yet,” Zimmer said Floyd’s status for Sunday. “We’ll see.”
Floyd said he collided knee to knee with a teammate at Wednesday’s practice. He had an MRI. It came back clean. He is not sure about his status for Sunday’s game.
The Packers list tight end Brandon Bostick (hip) as out. They have cornerback Jarrett Bush (groin), linebacker Jayrone Elliott (hamstring), linebacker Nick Perry (shoulder) and defensive end Datone Jones (ankle) as questionable. They also list linebacker Clay Matthews (groin), guard T.J. Lang (ankle) and guard Josh Sitton (toe) as probable.
The Complete injury Report
The Vikings list Asiata (concussion) as out for Sunday’s game.
The team lists wide receiver Greg Jennings (rib), Floyd (knee), offensive tackle Matt Kalil (knee) and wide receiver Jarius Wright (hamstring) as questionable for Sunday’s game.
They also list McKinnon (low back), offensive tackle Mike Harris (ankle), linebacker Anthony Barr (knee), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (ankle), defensive end Everson Griffen (neck), tight end Kyle Rudolph (abdomen/groin), defensive end Scott Crichton (hip) and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn (not injury related) as probable for Sunday’s game.
For more Vikings news and updates, visit Vikings Central.
Joseph Gunther is an avid fan of Minnesota sports, including football, hockey and baseball. He covered a wide variety of sports while attending Hastings College in Hastings, Neb. While at Hastings College, he was a part of the first collegiate media group to broadcast a national tournament via television, radio, internet and newspaper at the 2004 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament. He grew up in the Twin Cities playing three years of varsity football in high school. Joseph is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
