Childress still hoping on Winfield

Cornerback Antoine Winfield has missed two full days of practice with a sprained foot, but Vikings coach Brad Childress is still holding out hope that Winfield could play.

There appears little chance that Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield will play for the Vikings on Sunday at Pittsburgh.

Winfield suffered a sprained right foot last Sunday against Baltimore and had his foot in a walking boot Monday in the Vikings locker room.

Winfield’s absence would be a major blow to a pass defense that has dropped to 24th in the NFL and will be facing the league’s second-ranked passing offense.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL with 1,887 passing yards and certainly will test Winfield’s replacement at left corner.

Karl Paymah replaced Winfield after he was injured in the second quarter against the Ravens, but his struggles might mean the Vikings look in a different direction.

One option would be to move Benny Sapp from his nickel spot to the left cornerback and have rookie Asher Allen play either inside or outside in the nickel.

Vikings coach Brad Childress, however, won’t give up hope that Winfield will make a miraculous recover.

“If there’s anybody that has a chance because of the notes he takes and how he looks at (teams, it’s him),” Childress said. “But at some point you have to warm up and move around.”

NOTES

CB Antoine Winfield did not practice Wednesday or Thursday because of a sprained right foot.

S Husain Abdullah was limited in practice for a second consecutive day because of a back injury.

S Eric Frampton was limited in practice for a second consecutive day because of an ankle injury.

WR Percy Harvin was limited in practice for a second consecutive day after re-injuring his left shoulder Sunday against Baltimore. Harvin originally injured the shoulder the previous Sunday at St. Louis and hurt it again on a kickoff return versus the Ravens.

T Phil Loadholt was limited in practice for a second consecutive day because of an ankle injury. Loadholt played Sunday’s game with the same injury and is expected to be able to play this weekend against the Steelers.

RB Adrian Peterson was limited in practice for a second consecutive day because of an ankle injury.

WR Darius Reynaud was limited for a second consecutive day because of a hamstring injury. Reynaud was injured in Week 3 against San Francisco and has not played since.

S Madieu Williams was limited for a second consecutive day because of a quadriceps injury.