The Minnesota Vikings are toiling through this week's organized team activities without two of the cornerstones of their offense on the field: All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson and Pro Bowl runner/receiver/returner/everything-man Percy Harvin.
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We recently checked in with Peterson, who's battling his way back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and says he's "50-50" for training camp. Harvin is on hand for team practices this week, but he isn't participating in drills because of a minor shoulder surgery to clean out bone spurs. Harvin has been limited to meetings with the team, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
It's hard to find an injury that isn't labeled as "minor" here in the offseason, but Harvin isn't expected to miss extensive time.
"Just great for our meetings, great for our coaches to see him around although he's not able to participate in some of the drills," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told The Associated Press. "Just to have him on the side doing the things he's doing, being in the meetings. He's a guy who is so well-respected by our team, and all of the guys know how much of a playmaker he is, but he's become one of the leaders on our football team. It's great that he would be here in a voluntary situation."
The Vikings are counting on Harvin's return. The 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year enjoyed his best season in 2011, totaling 967 yards through the air, 345 on the ground and another 520 returning kicks.
Peterson's rehab is another headache-inducing topic for a front office that furnished him with a seven-year, $96 million contract last season. (Perhaps the last running back pact of this kind for many years to come.) Until this pair returns to the fold, we won't -- and young quarterback Christian Ponder won't -- have a full picture of what Minnesota's attack will look like in 2012.
