The Vikings would love to have star receiver Sidney Rice back by his target return date of Week 8, but that seems far-fetched given the latest news surrounding his injury.
According to Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Rice is still walking around on crutches following his offseason hip surgery. He’s already stated that he’ll be ready to play two weeks after he’s eligible to come off the PUP list (which is after Week 6), but again, that seems like a stretch.
Once he gets off crutches, he’ll need a couple of weeks to rehab his hip and then he still has to get into game shape. Even if he does come back in Week 8, he’s not going to be the same player he was last year and by the time he is back in shape, the Vikings could be out of the playoff hunt in the NFC.
It’s still early and there’s still plenty of time for Rice to have an impact. But Adrian Peterson and the defense has to keep the Vikings afloat until Rice can come back and help Brett Favre and the passing game. He’s sorely missed at the moment, but he’s still a ways away from playing. There are still doubts that he can have any kind of an impact at all this season.
