With a compression sleeve on his left calf, nose tackle Michael Pierce moved around at Thursday's Vikings practice like a 340-pound defender who doesn't expect to miss much more time.
Pierce, the Vikings' top 2020 free-agent signing who opted out last season because of COVID-19 concerns, said he should be healed "soon" from a calf strain he suffered while training in Alabama this summer. After participating in defensive line drills, he's been rehabbing off to the side of practices while mending an injury that wasn't reported until last week.
"I actually injured it three weeks before you guys found out," Pierce said.