3 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Mistral Raymond is expected enter 2013 as the Vikings' starting free safety.

After dislocating his ankle early on last season, Raymond lost his starting job to Jamarca Sanford. The two ended up sharing time late in the year and now Sanford is an unrestricted free agent. If he's back, it will be as a core special teamer and depth behind Raymond.

7 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Vikings S Mistral Raymond (dislocated ankle) will resume practicing in full this week.

Raymond has been limited to individual work the past two weeks. "We need to get him through an entire week of practice," Frazier said. "We're going to give him a little bit more this week and then we'll make a decision later in the week." It's unclear if Raymond would immediately rejoin the starting lineup, but he'd be in for heavy snaps if active against the Seahawks.

8 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said FS Mistral Raymond (ankle) will be out 3-5 weeks.

Raymond partially dislocated his ankle while trying to tackle Frank Gore in the first half of Sunday's win over the 49ers. With Raymond out, the Vikings will turn to Jamarca Sanford to start opposite Harrison Smith. Sanford started 15 games for Minnesota last season and recorded 75 total tackles.

8 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Vikings SS Mistral Raymond has been diagnosed with a bone bruise in his ankle.

It means Raymond has avoided a fracture or high-sprain, but coach Leslie Frazier still hinted that he will miss several weeks. That means the Vikings will be forced to go with an ineffective Jamarca Sanford opposite rookie Harrison Smith at safety. If Matthew Stafford (leg) is under center Sunday, the Vikings will be severely tested at the back-end.

8 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Vikings S Mistral Raymond suffered a first-half ankle injury in Week 3 against the 49ers and is done for the day.

Raymond is Minnesota's starting strong safety. The Vikings figure to turn to Jamarca Sanford, whom Raymond narrowly beat out for the job in training camp. First-round pick Harrison Smith is the Vikings' other safety starter.

11 Months Minnesota Vikings Comment

Mistral Raymond is considered a "good bet" to open the season as the Vikings' starting strong safety.

He appears to have the post-spring edge on Jamarca Sanford and rookie Robert Blanton. Raymond is limited in coverage, which will be problematic in Minnesota's two-deep secondary scheme. While RCB Chris Cook's return and rookie FS Harrison Smith's addition upgraded the talent, we'll still be targeting the Vikings' pass defense for fantasy football matchup purposes in 2012.