Buffalo Bills’ Tashard Choice (20) is tackled by Minnesota Vikings’ Audie Cole (57) and Desmond Bishop (55) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
Article By Ben Goessling
The moment Desmond Bishop had been anticipating for more than a year had come and gone, and the Vikings linebacker felt the wash of relief that came from returning to the field, playing in a game and making it back to the locker room without an injury.
That milestone reached, Bishop could get to work assessing how he played in the Vikings’ 20-16 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Friday night, a game in which the linebacker showed some of the qualities that convinced the Vikings to take a chance on him while playing most of the second half.
Bishop reflected on the game in his typically frank manner.
“I was a little rusty,” he said. “I think my adrenaline kind of got the best of me on the first couple plays. That first drive, that first time I got in there on a long drive, it was kind of hectic. But it was fun.”
The Vikings have two more exhibition games to evaluate Bishop as they decide whether the former Packer can be part of their defense a year after he tore a hamstring in the first preseason game.
Friday’s game was Bishop’s first since then, so the Vikings will probably need the time. Friday helped him get comfortable on the field again, but it didn’t answer the question of whether the 29-year-old can help the Vikings more than some of the young linebackers battling him for a roster spot.
Bishop made four tackles, playing mostly in the nickel package the Vikings used for most of the second half, and gave them a taste of his pass-rushing ability when he sent a blocking back staggering with his shoulder and met safety Andrew Sendejo in the backfield to share a sack of Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel.
But Bishop said he missed a couple tackles early, as the Bills’ no-huddle offense kept the Vikings’ nickel package on the field without a break. He also was the closest player to Buffalo wide receiver Brad Smith when Manuel found him in the corner of the end zone in the third quarter, though Bishop chuckled and said Smith was “absolutely not” his responsibility on the 4-yard touchdown pass.
“There were a couple plays I wanted back,” Bishop said. “Those kind of nullified my sack a little bit. It’s all part of the game. Every single snap I had, I was just grateful for them.”
Bishop missed the Vikings’ first preseason game because of a groin injury, and the problem facing the team’s decision-makers now is this: They have two more games to determine whether Bishop can regain the form he had in Green Bay in 2010 and 2011, when he played near a Pro Bowl level, or whether his injuries will prevent that from happening.
They also have a slew of other linebackers to consider. Marvin Mitchell has started both preseason games at weak-side linebacker, Tyrone McKenzie and Audie Cole could be useful reserves, rookies Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti have shown potential in training camp and Larry Dean has kept a roster spot in the past because of his work on special teams.
None of those linebackers has necessarily set himself apart from the group so far, and the Vikings figure to use plenty of them in each of their last two preseason games, while they rest starters like Erin Henderson and Chad Greenway in the final contest. But the group is deep enough that Bishop either will have to beat out a returning player from the 2012 roster or a draft pick the Vikings like.
Now that his return is over, the rest of his work can continue.
“You could see he was a little rusty early on,” coach Leslie Frazier said. “But then he settled in and began to make some plays and got comfortable communicating, as well. As much as anything, it was good to see him out there running around so now he can assess where he is, and so can we.”
Briefly
Wide receiver Jarius Wright suffered a concussion in the second quarter of Friday’s game, and will have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before he is able to return to practice.
