Mike Zimmer Emphasizing Rest Before Sprint to…

The Vikings are also gearing up for two games in five days, as they host the Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 14.

The 65-year-old Zimmer, who has been in the NFL since 1994, noted that he has had to learn how to ease off the gas pedal at times over his time in the league.

“It’s hard for me anyway, but we do have some older players that we have to take care of,” Zimmer said. “But there’s a fine line with some of the young guys that are playing so they don’t get as good of work as they would, but I think it’s important that we continue to try to stay fresh, and we’ve been doing a little bit more on Wednesdays this year than we have in the past.

“Like I told them this morning, they’ve been emptying their buckets for me and for them each and every week, so I’m trying to take care of them so they can do that again on Sunday,” Zimmer added.

He also credited Josh Hingst, Minnesota’s first-year Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Vikings Vice President of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman for their efforts in keeping players available for the marathon season.

“Our strength coach, Josh Hingst, who does a really good job of charting the effort from the GPS systems,” Zimmer said. “[And] our trainer Eric Sugarman … they talk to me a lot about what we’ve done, our cumulative stuff to this point.

“They actually talked me into it today. I had them both in my office this morning,” Zimmer said.

Hingst and Sugarman are certainly earning their paychecks in 2021 considering the seesaw season it’s been for Zimmer’s squad.