Simpson wakes up with injury

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings were trying to determine Monday why wide receiver Jerome Simpson woke up with numbness and weakness in his lower left leg that hindered him in the game against Tennessee.

Coach Leslie Frazier said Simpson was undergoing MRI tests. Simpson played in parts of Minnesota's 30-7 win, but he didn't catch any passes. He had trouble pushing off because of the injury, which Frazier said could also be connected to his back.

“This was completely new for him and so as you can imagine, it scared him, had him alarmed,” Frazier said. The coach added, though, that the Vikings aren't bracing for a long-term absence.

“We shouldn't be afraid to the point where we're going to lose him for a long period of time, but everything is not conclusive,” Frazier said.

The Vikings tweeted Monday a link from their official account to a photo of Simpson “getting some serious air” with a leap he made on his way out of the tunnel during pregame player introductions. But Simpson was otherwise unable to use his explosiveness on the field.

“We were hoping that as time went on he'd regain that feeling over the course of the game, because in talking with the doctor they felt like that was possible,” Frazier said. “It did get a little bit better but not to the point where he felt completely comfortable.”

Also, running back Adrian Peterson suffered a mild sprain of his left ankle that he played through, finishing with 88 yards on 17 rushes. Frazier said the Vikings don't see “anything that will keep him from playing” on Sunday at Washington.

“When it's the same leg where you had the knee injury, I can see there being a little bit of doubt in your mind about what is going to happen next but to his credit once again, he kept himself together, got back on the field. He ran great,” Frazier said.

Wide receiver Childs comments after surgery

Greg Childs happily walked through Minnesota's locker room. It was a stiff stroll, but the wide receiver walked without assistance, proudly updating his progress and promising to be back on the field for 2013 despite a ruptured patellar tendon in each of his knees that ended his rookie year before it began.

“I like to do things that people think other people can't do. I've got a strong head,” he said.

Childs appeared in the locker room on Monday during a break before a rehabilitation session at the team's practice facility, making his first public comments since the freak injury a week into training camp. Childs was drafted out of Arkansas in the fourth round and placed on injured reserve shortly after he was hurt.

“It kind of hurt my feelings a little bit, but you've just got to push through it,” Childs said with a big smile on his face. “You've got to understand football is a game you're going to get hurt in. But it's how you come back and how you respond when you do get hurt.”

Childs credited his Christian faith and family support for his positive attitude.

“I'll be back on the field next season. So I'll be back out there running around doing my thing, making plays,” Childs said.

He said he's been walking “for a while” without crutches or braces, doing daily strength and range of motion exercises on each leg.

“It's a long process, but you've just got to be prepared for it, get your head in the game, have your mind set,” Childs said.

He politely declined to share more details about his recovery, like which activities he can currently do and which ones he can't.

“I can do a whole bunch of things. I'm just going to keep behind the scenes and let you all, you know, just kind of find out slowly,” Childs said, grinning: “I'm not going to put it out on tape for y'all right now. I'm doing good, though.”

Childs was hurt when he tried to jump to catch a pass in an intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 4. He tore the patellar tendon in his right knee two years ago, an injury that limited his production as a senior and caused him to fall down the draft board. But Childs said that history with the same injury has made his rehab work easier to handle and his outlook more optimistic.

“I already understood what it was going to take for me to get back on the field and how long it was going to take for me to start back walking,” Childs said, adding: “So I had the mindset what I needed to do.”

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