The Facts: Murray said he's not behind schedule in his return from right ankle surgery, and could, if necessary, have himself ready for the regular season without participating in training camp. "Most definitely," Murray. "At the end of the day, football is football. I think for me it's just making sure physically I'm OK. The mental part of it, it's a game I've been playing all my life."

Diehards Line: Not everybody agrees. Of most interest here, of course, would be HC Mike Zimmer. “Well,” Zimmer said, “he is a smart guy. But he needs to get out there” on the practice field. ... Murray was signed in March as a free agent from Oakland. He had the surgery after that, although the Vikings were aware that the surgery was needed. A month later, the Vikings used their top draft pick on Dalvin Cook, a running back to compete with Murray for the No. 1 role in what is expected to be a running back corps by committee. Murray has missed OTAs, minicamp and has spent the first week of training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Asked today to update his timetable for return, Murray said, “No timetable. ..." In the meantime, Cook continues to benefit from the additional reps available in Murray's absence.