Cassel to start again for Vikings; Peterson aims to play

Matt Cassel will remain the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback this week and running back Adrian Peterson hopes to be able to practice on Friday in preparation for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Peterson exited last Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens in the second quarter with a mid-foot sprain and has been wearing a walking boot. An MRI showed no structural damage.

"He can do things that most can't, in terms of coming back from injuries," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "We were walking up the stairs a few minutes ago and I said, 'Hey, what do you think?' He said, 'I'll be ready, Coach; don't worry about me.' That's Adrian."

Frazier also is optimistic that running back Toby Gerhart will be able to practice on Friday and play on Sunday. Gerhart suffered a strained hamstring on a 41-yard touchdown run last Sunday.

"That gives me some optimism, but not enough to where we may not have to go to our third back on Sunday," Frazier said.

As for Cassel starting over Christian Ponder and Josh Freeman, Frazier said, "We've watched some things with Josh at practice and meetings. He's done a lot of good things, but where we are now, we want to be able to take a look at Matt and see how he does in back-to-back starts."

Cassel completed 37 of 71 passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in the past two weeks.

Ponder (concussion) has been cleared to play.