Anthony Barr Expected To Play Saturday

When the Minnesota Vikings host the Oakland Raiders on Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium, fans may finally get to see one of the more exciting young players on the roster for the first time since last December.

Anthony Barr, who started the first 12 games of his rookie season at linebacker for the Vikings, is expected to play on Saturday night, according to head coach Mike Zimmer. He missed the final four games of 2014 with a knee injury, and has been held out of a good portion of pre-season practices and the first two preseason games because of a different, unrelated knee issue.

Zimmer said that he isn't worried about Barr being ready for the regular season opener against what's left of the San Francisco 49ers on 14 September. From the sounds of it, Barr isn't too worried, either.

"I think I'll be OK if I can continue on the path I'm on," Barr said. "I've been recovering very well. I'm feeling pretty good, so just keep doing what I'm doing."

It will be nice to see #55 on the field again this Saturday. Hopefully he'll hold up okay for the rest of the preseason and into the regular season. For now, though, I think it's safe to hold the Barr Anxiety Index at "medium" until we get a good look at him.