Vikings.com staff members Mike Wobschall (@Wobby), Lindsey Young (@LindseyMNSports), Eric Smith (@EricLSmith), Craig Peters (@pcraigers), and Chris Corso (CACorso) will provide some quick hitters on this page that will be updated throughout a busy media Wednesday at Winter Park.
On the docket today was a morning podium session for Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer and quarterbacks Shaun Hill and Sam Bradford will speak during open locker room.
Titans Head Coach Mike Mularkey and quarterback Marcus Mariota had conference calls with Twin Cities media.
The Vikings have the first practice of the week this afternoon, and both teams will release their first injury reports of the week.
Follow the running log below for Wednesday's news going forward:
1:24 PM - Adrian Peterson spoke to members of the Nashville media via a conference call and admitted he was a little antsy to begin preparing for a game. Peterson sat out the preseason but participated in two joint practice sessions with the Bengals in Cincinnati. The first day was fully padded and included contact without tackling.
Peterson said has felt "no added weight" since Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending injury and added, "I always go into the season with my mindset on leading the team and being the backbone of the team."
Peterson said the team is refocused for the new season.
"For me, it's been a long time coming with OTAs, training camp and then you've got four weeks of preseason which was just like, uh," Peterson said. "It was hard just sitting there, traveling and knowing that you're not playing. So to finally have the season here in front of me, I'm pretty pumped about it.
"It was actually hard for me to go to sleep last night," Peterson said. "It just felt like the first day of school coming in today because that's really when the week starts, that Wednesday. I've been wired up and I'll be ready to roll Sunday."
1:02 PM -Practice is underway at Winter Park as the Vikings begin their preparation for the Titans out on the practice fields.
This is no normal game week for Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford, who arrived in Minnesota just a few days ago.
Bradford is working and studying to prepare for the Titans and well and learning the Vikings playbook as he is approaching Sunday as if he will start.
"Normally you go into a game week and you already have a pretty good grasp of what you're doing offensively and you try to study the opponent and what they are doing on defense," Bradford said. "Trying to balance that this week has been a little more difficult than it nomally is. As much as I'm studying Tennesse, I'm probably studying even more of our playbook making sure I am comfortable with what we are doing offensively."
12:26 PM - With no starting quarterback yet being named for the Vikings matchup with the Titans Sunday, both Shaun Hill and Sam Bradford said the uncertainty doesn't change the way they mentally approach practice.
"You really approach it the same," said Bradford, who had his first practice with Minnesota Sept. 4. "You prepare yourself like you're going to be the one to go out there and start on Sunday. I think that's the only way that you can approach it, and that's really how I've approached it this week."
Hill, in his second consecutive year with the Vikings and 15th NFL season, said the fluidity hasn't been much of a challenge for a him.
"I've always taken the same approach no matter what, no matter what the case is," Hill said. "I've done that year after year in this league and week after week. Having that as my background, it hasn't been that challenging at all."
He later added: "Life as a backup is, there's no warning."
12:20 PM - Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season last Tuesday with a knee injury, a blow that affected teammates and fans who have a strong affinity for the 23-year-old quarterback.
The Vikings then swung a trade Saturday morning with the Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford.
Add in the fact that the Vikings open the 2016 season on the road against Tennessee on Sunday, and there's been no shortage of storylines in Minnesota.
Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said he's tried to take all of the happenings in stride.
"It's been like a rollercoaster and I hate rollercoasters," the 5-foot-9 Munnerlyn said with a smile. "I barely can fit on them … I just barely make it.
"It's been a rollercoaster but at the same time, our front office made a big move," he added. "It let us know in the locker room that this is our year."
12:10 PM -Zimmer and the Vikings will have to prepare for a dual-threat rushing attack this week in DeMarco Murray and rookie Derrick Henry. Another running threat on the Titans offense that Zimmer noted in his press conference is second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Mariota's preseason was an impressive one heading into Sunday's game in Nashville.
He completed 23-of-31 passes for 319 passing yards in three preseason games. Mariota totaled a completion percentage of 74.2 and a passer rating of 104.1 before sitting out for Tennessee's final preseason game.
11:55 AM - Anticipating a question about the Vikings quarterback status for Sunday's regular-season opener, Head Coach Mike Zimmer opened his Wednesday press conference joking that the Vikings would line up in a single wing formation.
Zimmer said he doesn't plan to announce whether the Vikings will start Shaun Hill, who has been Teddy Bridgewater's backup since last season, or Sam Bradford, who was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Saturday. Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury during an Aug. 30 practice.
The Vikings have three practices this week before traveling to Nashville Saturday and kicking off their season at noon (CT) Sunday.
