| Vikings backup safety Jamarca Sanford has exceeded expectations as a starter. (US Presswire) |
S Mistral Raymond has been working his way back into the lineup after sustaining a bone bruise on his ankle in Week 3. When the Vikings played the Lions before the bye week, he shared reps with backup Jamarca Sanford, and coach Leslie Frazier said on Wednesday that Sanford would remain the starter.
“I think we’re going to rotate them again; we’ll probably start Jamarca and let Mistral continue to work his way back,” Frazier said. "[Mistral’s] pretty much 100 percent now, but Jamarca has been playing well, so we’ll probably split duty again on Sunday.”
Sanford was upset that he didn't get the starting nod when the season began, but he kept his head up and worked hard, and when Raymond went down, he took advantage of the opportunity. In seven starts in place of Raymond, Sanford has 50 tackles and four forced fumbles, which is three more than anyone else on the team.
“You always hope the guys who step in will play well and there won’t be a big drop-off, but we felt like [Sanford] was the backup for a reason,” Frazier said. “But he has played better than we thought he would in a starting role, which is a credit to him. He didn’t win a job coming out of training camp, but he has really played well for us.”
Injury report: The Vikings injury report came out with WR Percy Harvin, as expected, listed as "Did Not Participate." Harvin was joined by LG Charlie Johnson, who did not practice due to an injured toe.
WR Michael Jenkins did get on the practice field despite his injured foot, but he was limited. CB Antoine Winfield (knee) was also limited. The coaches have been holding Winfield back at practice throughout the season to keep him fresh for the entire season. In addition, NT Letroy Guion was limited at practice, which is good news as he is returning from an injured foot after missing the last game against the Lions.
Other players making the list who participated fully in practice are DE Jared Allen (shoulder), WR Stephen Burton (ankle), P Chris Kluwe (left knee) and RB Adrian Peterson (ankle). Peterson was held out of Monday’s practice just to give his injured ankle extra rest.
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