Lewis Cine out, Dalton Risner available for Vikings game at Carolina

The Vikings will be without safety Lewis Cine on Sunday, after the team ruled him out for its game against the Carolina Panthers because of a hamstring injury.

Cine played 13 snaps on special teams against the Chargers, working on all four of the team's punt and kickoff return and coverage units. He was not on the field for either of the team's kickoffs in the fourth quarter. The Vikings said Friday afternoon the injury happened during the game, but they did not report his injury status at the time because it didn't affect his availability.

Cine was listed as a nonparticipant in all three practices this week. Coach Kevin O'Connell said Friday the Vikings are hopeful Cine's injury won't cause a long-term absence.

"He opened up and just kind of felt the hammy a little bit," O'Connell said. "From everything I've been told, he's working through it pretty quickly."

The Vikings worked Dalton Risner at both left and right guard this week, and O'Connell said the veteran offensive lineman, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the team on Sept. 18, will be available to play against the Panthers.

"He's doing a really nice job making sure he understands our language," O'Connell said. "Those calls, they happen fast. There's some code words. He's making up for some time that group's had together. He's really working both sides, and prepared and ready to go."

Center Garrett Bradbury was listed as questionable for the game with the back injury that's kept him out for two games this season. Austin Schlottmann and Blake Brandel worked alongside Bradbury on exchanges with the Vikings quarterbacks during the open portion of practices this week.

O'Connell said Bradbury's status would be key to determining the overall makeup of the offensive line against the Panthers, while praising the work that guards Ed Ingram and Ezra Cleveland had done after the team signed Risner.

"I did think that Ed and Ezra had really good weeks of practice, coming off of a game where they were huge, as far as how we were running the football," O'Connell said. "You look at some of our combinations inside, the movement, I think we're seeing the hope of a competitive situation pushing everybody to be better."

The Vikings listed edge rusher Marcus Davenport as questionable for the game with the ankle injury that has limited him to four snaps this season. Davenport said this week his ankle is progressing; O'Connell said he's hopeful the injury won't be one that sticks with Davenport all season.

"I think he's had a really good week of work and we've tried to have, really going back to last week, a real systematic plan for him daily. Our work days and the off days to try to maximize his chances. I think, walking off the field today, he feels really good. We'll see how he responds to the work and how that looks for Sunday."

Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. was a full participant in Friday's practice after missing Wednesday and being limited Thursday because of a hip injury. The Vikings did not give Murphy an injury designation on Friday, and O'Connell said Murphy should be fully available against Carolina.

"He's a tough guy and has worked through it," O'Connell said. "Essentially, we kind of had to hold him back from himself a lot in practice this week. Byron's done a really nice job for us and handled a lot of responsibilities, really been a real positive addition to our group."