After leading the Minnesota Vikings to a touchdown on the first drive of Friday’s preseason victory over the Oakland Raiders, Matt Cassel will once again start at quarterback when the Vikings play the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, according to the Pioneer Press.
Will rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater start the third or fourth preseason games?
“We’ll see after this week,” head coach Mike Zimmer said on Sunday. “I don’t know.”
Cassel was 5-6 with 62 yards against the Raiders. Bridgewater, playing primarily with the second-team offense, finished the game 6-13 with 49 yards. Bridgewater also took a pair of sacks and fumbled the ball once.
Joseph recovering from gunshot wound
After taking a bullet to his calf during a shooting at a Minneapolis nightclub early Saturday morning, defensive tackle Linval Joseph is doing well. He released a statement on Sunday saying he’ll be back on the field in the near future.
Joseph, who was an innocent bystander when he was shot, is expected to be healthy enough to play in Minnesota’s Sept. 7 season opener at the St. Louis Rams, according to a report from ESPN’s Ed Werder.
I'm told DT and innocent bystander Linval Joseph will probably miss a few weeks with minor calf injury from being shot. Expected for Week 1
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) August 11, 2014
Vikings hire Priefer replacement
Joe Marciano will fill in for Mike Priefer as special teams coordinator during Priefer’s two- or- three-game suspension at the beginning of the season.
Priefer will miss time at the start of the season as a result of homophobic remarks he made during the 2012 season. Marciano has spent the past 28 seasons coaching special teams at the NFL level, according to FOX Sports North.
“We felt like, in our thinking, that it’d be good to get someone in here, go through these next three weeks of camp, get a feel of exactly how we’re doing things, where we can continue to speak the same language but have some veteran experience for these first couple ball games, especially with me being a new head coach,” Zimmer said. “And I think the experience factor has been good. Mike and Joe and Ryan (Ficken) are going to work very, very closely together so the continuity of what we do special teams is always the same.”
Marciano joined the team at training camp in Mankato on Sunday. Once Priefer returns, Marciano will exit and go back to his retired life.
New tight end joins the team
Tight end Kory Sperry was signed by the Vikings over the weekend. As noted by the Pioneer Press, Sperry, a role player during his six-year career, is familiar with offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He played for Turner’s San Diego Chargers in 2009 and 2010.
