Vikings wide receiver Josh Doctson returned to practice Wednesday with an eye on playing his next game near his hometown.
Doctson, who has been on injured reserve the past seven weeks with a hamstring injury, was designated by the Vikings to return. Players on injured reserve must miss at least eight weeks, and he is first eligible to play again Nov. 10 at Dallas, not far from Doctson’s hometown of Mansfield, Texas.
“I’m ready, but that’s not up to me,’’ Doctson said. “So I’m just trying to do what I can do and show that I’m 100 percent on the practice field first. After that, we’ll see.’’
Doctson was waived by Washington on Aug. 31 after three seasons and signed Sept. 3 with the Vikings. He hurt his hamstring in practice Sept. 11.
“It was good,’’ Doctson said of returning to practice. “It was like riding a bike, just trying to get my feet back under me and take it slow and ease into it.’’
Doctson said his hamstring “feels great” but added, “The thing with those hamstrings is you want to keep it feeling like that. They’re kind of sneaky.’’
Head coach Mike Zimmer said before the workout the Vikings will need to evaluate Doctson in practice before determining whether he could return against the Cowboys.
THIELEN LIMITED
Wide receiver Adam Thielen, whose consecutive games-played streak ended at 87 when he sat out Thursday against Washington with a hamstring injury, returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis.
Thielen declined to comment after the workout about his chances of playing Sunday at Kansas City. Zimmer said last Thursday there was “a good chance” Thielen would be back for the game.
All other players on the 53-man roster were full participants in Wednesday’s practice. Practice squad receiver Dillon Mitchell was not present, and a teammate said he was sick.
RHODES SEEKS IMPROVEMENT
Cornerback Xavier Rhodes, bothered by nagging injuries last season, said his health is not an issue and reiterated that he needs to play better.
Rhodes, who made the Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2017, is ranked No. 104 out of 113 NFL cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus. He has seven penalties in eight games.
“I’m feeling good, body-wise,’’ he said. “The coverage is there, I’m there, and when you watch film on me, I’ve just got to make the plays and eliminate the penalties.’’
BRIEFLY
- Cornerback Holton Hill returned to practice after serving two four-game NFL suspensions for substance-abuse issues. Zimmer said there was little consideration to letting Hill go before the start of the season. He didn’t cost the Vikings a roster spot and wasn’t paid during the suspensions. “It didn’t really cost us anything to keep him,’’ Zimmer said. “There was really no reason to not.’’
- Quarterback Kirk Cousins will make his second appearance at Arrowhead Stadium. Cousins completed 14 of 24 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns for Washington in a 29-20 loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 2, 2017. “It’s definitely loud,” he said. “It’s right up there with any stadium in the league as far as noise.”
- Chiefs coach Andy Reid has known Zimmer for a long time and said their friendship has grown since they’ve served together recently on an NFL committee. “We’ve gotten closer since we’ve been on this committee,’’ Reid said. “He told me he wasn’t going to blitz one time this game and I said, ‘That’s fine.’ ’’
