Chris Cook, Jimmy Kennedy Return to Practice Field
By Dan Zinski
The Vikings‘ lack of secondary depth became a big story going into last Thursday’s opening game against the Saints. As it turned out, the Vikes were able to overcome having only 3 healthy cornerbacks on the roster, and held the normally explosive Saints’ passing game to a relatively low total of 229 yards.
That being said, I’m sure Leslie Frazier would feel better knowing there was someone to turn to on the bench in the event of injury. Thankfully for Leslie and his peace of mind, it appears CB Chris Cook is taking strides toward returning to action. After being out all last week nursing a knee injury suffered in the final preseason game, Cook today returned to the practice field.
Cook was in line to possibly start at right corner before hurting himself. Lito Sheppard took over at right corner in Cook’s place, and performed well against the Saints. In that game, the Vikes employed a rotation that moved Antoine Winfield from left corner to the slot in nickel situations, and lined up Asher Allen on the outside.
Cook’s participation in practice of course does not guarantee that he will play this Sunday against the Dolphins. And with Cedric Griffin also still battling to return from injury, it appears the Vikes could once again enter a game with only three cornerbacks.
Yes, I know they got away with it against the Saints, but how long can they keep pressing their luck?
In other injury return news, Jimmy Kennedy reportedly also practiced today. Kennedy has been out even longer than Cook, having injured his knee in the second preseason game.
Kennedy was going to be the primary back up at defensive tackle until the injury. Unlike cornerback, defensive line is not an area where the Vikings have depth problems, so Kennedy’s loss wasn’t really that significant. Tackles Fred Evans and Letroy Guion both got a significant number of snaps against the Saints, as the Vikings rotated in defensive linemen to keep guys fresh.
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