Vikings' Greenway on baby alert heading to Detroit

Chad Greenway's family will grow by one very soon, but exactly when remains unknown. All he knows is his wife, Jennifer, could give birth "any day."

"We're on a minute-to-minute basis," Greenway said Tuesday. "I might get in there and have a call waiting like 'Meet me at Southdale [Hospital.]' So we'll see how it goes."

There's a chance Greenway, the Vikings' 11th-year linebacker, could miss Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit if the baby arrives before the Vikings leave Wednesday.

"You're damn right, if she's having the baby," Greenway said when asked if he could miss the game, adding in jest: "Get on [owner Zygi Wilf's] plane, get back for the second half."

Greenway, 31, and his wife already have three daughters — Maddyn, Beckett and Blakeley. Their youngest, Blakeley, was born in September 2014 — on a players' off day.

"We've had four football babies, this will be our fourth," Greenway said. "It's just we've never had to travel, we've always been able to avoid that."

It's quite the Thanksgiving twist for Greenway, the South Dakota family man and charitable leader in the locker room.

He's expected to retire this offseason, ending an 11-year run with the Vikings after playing out his one-year contract.

"You're used to being away from family on holidays from our profession, so I think you kind of get used to it," Green- way said.

"It doesn't make it any easier, but in this case with a baby so close to coming, there's a lot of anxiety."

On the field, Audie Cole could see more playing time in the base defense if Greenway does not play.

Tuesday was the only practice this week as they prepare for a quick turnaround Thursday in Detroit.

And they were without leading receiver Stefon Diggs (knee) and three of four starting defensive backs in cornerback Terence Newman (neck), safety Harrison Smith (ankle) and safety Andrew Sendejo (illness).

The only other two safeties on the roster are rookie Jayron Kearse and second-year pro Anthony Harris. Newman moved to safety in a pinch last season, but he's also being held out after playing only 22 snaps Sunday against the Cardinals.

Vikings guard Alex Boone wasn't happy with Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson for shoving quarterback Sam Bradford to the turf during a Wildcat formation play Sunday.

"[Peterson] knows what he did, and he knows what he's got coming to him," Boone said Tuesday.

Peterson was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

A day after the overtime loss to the Lions on Nov. 6, coach Mike Zimmer noted the Vikings missed 11 tackles.

Tackling is at the forefront again with the Lions boasting the No. 1 offense in the league in yards after the catch, according to Zimmer.

"We missed a lot of tackles in the first ballgame, but they have good athletes," Zimmer said.

"They're quick start-and-stop guys, and they have made a lot of guys miss."