A Correction/Clarification On Vikings Workout Attendance

I made an update earlier that a few folks that were reportedly going to show up at the Christian Ponder-organized workouts in Bradenton, Florida today "no-showed" the workouts. It turns out that I was in error to frame it in such a manner, and since I feel that many other people probably interpreted things the same way as I did, I would like to correct/clarify/retract what was said earlier.

Not long after I posted the aforementioned update, I got an e-mail from someone that works at the IMG Academy where the workouts were taking place. (Hey, somebody's reading. . .awesome!) What this person told me was that the list of people that was circulated as people that would be attending the workouts was not a list of people that were confirmed to attend. Rather, it was a list of people that Ponder was actually able to get a hold of and invite to Bradenton, not people that had necessarily told Ponder that they would definitely be attending and then wound up skipping out.

For all we know, Ponder could have known that those particular players weren't going to be there. . .he hasn't really said anything about the matter one way or the other, instead choosing to concentrate on working with the people that were there instead. But he did, indeed, invite Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Bernard Berrian to these workouts.

I do find it a bit disconcerting that Rice and Harvin were not there, as it was said that the two of them were pretty enthusiastic about getting the opportunity to work with their (presumed) new quarterback while the NFL continues to lock out the players and prevent them from organized workouts with their coaches.

But, for the record, it doesn't look like the players I just mentioned stood Ponder up in any way. Hopefully when the next workouts come around. . .and Ponder said that he was looking forward to organizing more workouts in the future. . .the attendance figures will higher than they were these past couple of days.

Rice, Berrian, Harvin, Shiancoe No-Show Florida Workouts

Well, so much for everybody getting together for a workout with the Vikings' new quarterback.

On the second day of workouts at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida, quite a few Vikings' veterans that were said to have been going to the workouts ended up not showing after all.

According to Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times, who has been working as a stringer of sorts for the folks in the Twin Cities, thanks to his proximity to the workout location, has said that wide receivers Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, and Bernard Berrian have failed to make it to Bradenton for the workouts, as has tight end Visanthe Shiancoe.

This basically means that the only players that wound up showing for the workouts were quarterbacks Christian Ponder (who organized the workouts) and Joe Webb, tight end Kyle Rudolph, wide receivers Greg Camarillo and Emmanuel Arceneaux, safety Mistral Raymond (who had classes to attend at the University of South Florida on Tuesday, but has shown up for the workouts today), and center Brandon Fusco.

Ponder has said that there will be more workouts, and hopefully "a lot more guys will show up." Based on the turnout that these workouts have received compared to what was expected, that shouldn't be a terribly high hurdle to clear.

Minnesota Vikings Offseason: Florida Workouts Start Today

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, there are eleven members of the Minnesota Vikings that are going to be gathering at the University of South Florida for some workouts, the first organized activities by members of the Vikings since their final game of the 2010 season in Detroit back in January.

The workouts are being organized by rookie quarterback Christian Ponder. . .who, these workouts get underway, is the only player in the Vikings' organization with a copy of new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave's playbook.  Receiver Greg Camarillo is helping Ponder to get things organized, and the players are being "hosted" by another Vikings' rookie, sixth-round pick Mistral Raymond, who played safety for South Florida.

Among the players that will be attending the workouts are receivers Sidney Rice (who could possibly be a free agent once the labor situation gets settled), Percy Harvin, Jaymar Johnson, and Emmanuel Arceneaux. Tight ends Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph will also be in attendance, as will running back Lorenzo Booker. Fellow quarterbacks Joe Webb and Rhett Bomar will be making the trip to Florida as well. Receiver Bernard Berrian will, apparently, not be making the trip, which makes sense. . .after all, with the amazing season that Berrian had in 2010, it's clear that he really doesn't need any extra work with his new quarterback or anything like that.

The players arrived in Florida on Monday, and are scheduled to have two workouts on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday, followed by a final workout on Thursday. No word yet on anything that could potentially be scheduled to take place after that time.