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Photo - Aj Mansour (KFAN)

By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjKFAN

Minneapolis, MN - As reports surfaced yesterday afternoon surrounding the potential tryout status of newly released free agent Desmond Bishop (formerly of Green Bay), the Minnesota Vikings instantly became one of the first teams tied together with the rumors.

As it stands now, Minnesota has little to no experience at the middle (mike) linebacker position after the departure of Jasper Brinkley. For now, former outside linebacker Erin Henderson is in the process of making the transition to the mike, but questions still exist surrounding Henderson's ability to handle the bigger role in the middle of the field.

Desmond Bishop, a six-year veteran, is scheduled to work out for the Vikings Wednesday afternoon and vie for a shot at the starting job. Before missing all of the 2012 season with a hamstring injury, Bishop was coming into his own locking down the middle of a solid linebacking corps in Green Bay. Released by the Packers on Monday, Bishop appears to be the victim of that log jam in the middle and cutting ties with the vested veteran clears a good deal of cap space for the Packers as well.

As for the potential that Bishop would come into Minnesota and steal the spot Henderson has been working so hard for, Erin said Tuesday that he's not too worried.

"It's cool," Henderson told reporters following the first day of Vikings Mini Camp at Winter Park. "I hope it goes well for him and the Vikings like what they see...It's like I said, I'll welcome him with open arms. I'm not really sure what it's about, I'm just employee number fifty and I'm just going to come out here and do what I can do on the field."

Asked if he would be willing to move over to his former position of "will" linebacker to make room for Bishop in the middle, Henderson responded curtly saying, "I'm playing the mike."

Henderson, who has taken 100% of the first team snaps at middle linebacker during the team's offseason programs, says that the Vikings have not approached him at all to discuss the potential of adding Bishop to the mix, but admitted that he understands their interest.

"You definitely need as many good players as you can have," Henderson explained. "You never know what's going to happen throughout the season, you know. The ebbs and flows, the ups and downs. Through 16 games, people get beat up, people get injured they get hurt. It's always good to have people that can come in and play."

For now, Henderson continues to prepare as if he will be the team's starting middle linebacker on opening day in Detroit. Unfortunately for him, it's looking more and more like the Vikings are interested in bringing in a little more competition to see what Henderson is really made of.

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Vikings updates and breaking Vikings news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjKFAN

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By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjKFAN

Minneapolis, MN - Joining the Paul Allen Show on KFAN 100.3FM Friday morning, Minnesota Vikings All-Pro center John Sullivan set the record straight regarding recent reports that say he will be 100% ready to go when Training Camp begins on July 25th.

"It's hard to answer those questions," Sullivan told KFAN after being asked if he will be ready to roll for Training Camp. "We're getting better each and every week, each and every day."

Sullivan, who underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in early February, has been in attendance at all of the Vikings Organized Team Activities this month but has been on the sidelines and behind the scenes rehabbing with head trainer Eric Sugarman

"Being on the sidelines during OTAs sucks," Sullivan said. "It's not fun, you're rehabbing the entire time. The last place you want to be is on the sidelines with Eric Sugarman! He's incredibly good at his job but they beat you up on the sidelines the entire time. They're making sure you're working hard."

Typically, recovery from this type of surgery is ball parked between three to almost six months, a timetable that should put Sullivan right in range to take the field in Mankato for training camp.

Still, Sullivan is hesitant to commit to any timetable no matter how short or long it may be.

"I just don't want to put a time frame on it," Sullivan continued. "We're taking it one day at a time. I promise, I am doing absolutely everything I can to be ready for that [week one] game in Detroit."

Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Vikings updates and breaking Vikings news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjKFAN

By: Sam Ekstrom | KFAN.com
@SamEkstrom

Christian Ponder’s struggles last season were tough to ignore, but it’s fair to say the team’s lack of depth at receiver was partially to blame.

Following the offseason acquisitions of two-time Pro Bowler Greg Jennings and highly-touted rookie Cordarrelle Patterson, Ponder finally has a complete group of receivers to throw to.

The third-year quarterback spoke with KFAN Radio Wednesday about his excitement for the new pass-catchers.

“We have a lot of the right pieces in place,” said Ponder. “We know that we have a lot of great players. We have a lot of talent. We have a lot of potential.”

With the departure of Percy Harvin to Seattle, Jennings—acquired from Green Bay—becomes the new focal point of the passing game. Ponder expressed how nice it will be to have the former Packer in purple and gold this year.

“He’s an outstanding receiver,” said Ponder. “We saw him every year, twice, playing against us, and he scored a lot of touchdowns and made a lot of catches. It will be exciting for us to have him on our side of the field.”

Entering his eighth year as a pro, the veteran Jennings will also be looked to as a mentor for the rookie Patterson and second-year receiver Jarius Wright.

Said Ponder, “He’s just very knowledgeable of the game. He’s got great leadership skills. He’s rubbing off on the other receivers. We have a young group of receivers behind Greg and he’s trying to give as much knowledge to those guys and you can tell they’re soaking it up.”

Patterson may be the most raw, yet intriguing, of the Vikings’ draft picks. His possession skills have been compared to Percy Harvin’s and his length has been measured against a young Randy Moss.

“He’s come in and I think he’s learned a lot,” said Ponder of the rookie. “I think Greg [Jennings] has really spent a lot of time with him. Coach Stewart, our receivers’ coach, has spent a lot of time with him. You can tell it’s starting to click for him.”

“We’ve seen a lot from him during practice. He’s a big-time receiver. He’s a bigger guy. He runs great routes. He’s got great stick on his moves. He can get downfield. He’s pretty much everything you want in a receiver.”

Another player who should benefit from Jennings’ presence is Jerome Simpson. The former Cincinnati Bengal signed an incentive-laden one-year contract with Minnesota last year, but suffered through a season marred by suspension and injury. Ponder thinks year two will be different.

“We expect he’s going to get better,” said Ponder. “He started coming along toward the end of the season and his confidence was starting to build.”

“He’s still learning. It was his first year in the offense last year after being in an offense at Cincinnati for four or five years, so there’s some sort of transition and learning curve there.”

Obviously, much of the receiving corps’ success will be placed on the right arm of Ponder. The former first-round draft pick was 23rd in touchdown passes, 25th in passing yards, and 31st in yards per attempt last season, leaving lots of room for improvement.

The quarterback admits that having extra weapons raises the bar.

“We have high expectations for the team,” said Ponder. “I have high expectations for myself and expect to make some improvement. We have put a lot of the right pieces in place around me, so there really is no excuse to not progress.”