MANKATO, Minn. -- When Minnesota Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn became purely a nickel cornerback a year ago, he vowed to become the best in the league at defending slot receivers. He's argued that, in the pass-happy modern NFL, nickel corners should be on the Pro Bowl ballot.
It would appears his teammates are taking up his cause, at least facetiously.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith strode to the podium for his press conference Friday wearing a shirt with a side profile of Munnerlyn on a coin -- you know, like what you'd see on a nickel.
"'In Cap We Trust,' is what it says on the shirt," Smith said. "The PR guys made these, so we've got to rep 'em."
Munnerlyn's sensitivity about the plight of the nickel corner, Smith said, "was also part of it. Honestly, the shirt fits really good, so that's why I like it."
The 28-year-old corner may have a point. Munnerlyn played 675 of the Vikings' 1,015 defensive snaps last season, intercepting two passes. He recovered a fumble for a touchdown that wound up providing the Vikings' final points in their 20-13 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North title game last January. He'll be a free agent after this season, but assuming he once again is the team's top nickel corner, he should play a prominent role in the defense before he heads back to the open market.
His coach, though, won't be sporting one of the shirts.
"I don't [have one]," coach Mike Zimmer said. "I try to stay away from him as much as possible."
Here are other notes and observations from Friday's practice:
Cordarrelle Patterson and Jerick McKinnon were back at practice after missing time with minor injuries; Patterson returned from the shoulder injury he sustained in the Vikings' first practice, and McKinnon said he twisted his back earlier this week. The injury, McKinnon said, wasn't related to the low back surgery that truncated his rookie season in 2014. "I just got twisted up," he said. "It happens. My main objective right now is to be patient, but keep working and find a way to get back out there 100 percent."
Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell got brief work with the first-team offense. But Teddy Bridgewater's favorite target of the day was Stefon Diggs, who did a nice job sitting down in zone coverage to catch a throw over the middle and connected with the quarterback soon after on a crossing route. The day wasn't all good for Bridgewater, though; Anthony Barr intercepted a pass over the middle during a red zone drill, and on the next play, Brian Robison pawed a pass out of the air for another interception.
Adrian Peterson will probably get some of his heavier work of training camp next week, during the Vikings' first padded practice with the Cincinnati Bengals, and the league's leading rusher looks ready for contact. He had several impressive runs Friday and popped Barr with a shoulder at the end of one of them, after cutting through the middle of the defense.
The Vikings might need a blocking tight end to take Rhett Ellison's place while he recovers from a torn patellar tendon, and they used both MyCole Pruitt and David Morgan in the first-team offense Friday. Morgan, a sixth-round pick this year, was used mostly on the end of the line of scrimmage, while Pruitt could see a larger role after mostly functioning as a blocker in 2015. "He looks improved to me and I think he's got a chance to be a good blocker," Zimmer said. "He's catching the ball good and running good routes."
Lastly, we know you've been waiting for it: Moritz Bohringer made his best play of camp so far. Working on Tre Roberson, he ran a comeback route, used his body to shield the ball from the corner and reached out for a Shaun Hill pass as he dove to the ground. The highlights have been a bit sparse for Bohringer so far, but on that play, he did just about everything right./li>
