EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Sam Bradford is on the mend.
The Vikings quarterback was a limited participant in practice Thursday afternoon, the first time he had practiced since Sept. 21.
Bradford met with the media Friday and said his knee has continued to improve over the past few weeks.
"I feel good," Bradford said. "Being able to go out there and practice yesterday was obviously a step in the right direction.
"I think being able to go out there again today and see what it feels like, be able to make it through today and through tomorrow, that's obviously key for me," Bradford added. "Considering what I did yesterday and how it feels, I feel good."
Bradford was injured in Minnesota's 29-19 season-opening win against New Orleans on Monday Night Football. He threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while compiling a passer rating of 143.0.
The quarterback said that when he does return to the field, he expects to be in-sync with the Vikings wide receivers, tight ends and running backs just as he was before.
"I hope so," Bradford said. "I think that's why you go through OTAs and training camp.
"We spent a lot of time together even going back to last year," Bradford added. "I think this week, with me getting back out there (at practice), it's kind of just reigniting some of that chemistry and getting back on the same page and trying to fall right back into it."
Bradford said Friday that he's hoping to have an idea of whether or not he will play against the Bears by this weekend.
"I would like to have a better idea by then," Bradford said. "Hopefully after today's practice, tomorrow's practice, seeing how it responds to multiple days of practice, and work I'll have a better idea of what it's going to be like.
"In my mind, I'm hoping by tomorrow that I'll have a better idea of where I'm at," Bradford added.
The former No. 1 overall pick said that he likely won't be fully healthy until after the season is over, but noted he's been chomping at the bit to get back on the field.
"At this point, you're going to have to play through some discomfort," Bradford said. "I would like it to be 100 percent, but I don't even know if that's possible until the bye week or the end of the year.
"The goal is just to be able to go out there and feel comfortable moving around and be able to play," Bradford added.
Minnesota is 1-2 in Bradford's absence, beating Tampa Bay at home while falling to Pittsburgh on the road and the Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.
When Bradford does return, the huddle won't include rookie running back Dalvin Cook, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon are expected to pick up the workload in Cook's absence.
"Our guys are playing hard out there," Bradford said. "Obviously (against) Tampa, they went out there and played great.
"Last week against Detroit they battled extremely hard. Obviously, losing Dalvin is a tough blow on offense," Bradford added. "Latavius and Jet, both those guys have played a lot of football. We're comfortable with them. We just have to get back out there and get going."
