EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin returned to practice Friday, and the team gives him a 50-50 chance to play in Sunday's game at Carolina.
Harvin was absent all of last week and stayed home again Wednesday and Thursday because of severe problems with migraine headaches. But he felt well enough to participate in individual drills with his helmet on during Friday's light workout, and Vikings coach Brad Childress listed Harvin as questionable to play against the Panthers.
"His spirits are good," Childress said. "Same Percy."
Harvin said he felt fine, grateful for the opportunity to work up a sweat for the first time in nearly two weeks.
"I should be on the field on Sunday," he said, "but we'll see."
Harvin is trying different treatments to fight the problem he's had for most of his life, calling the migraines "scary" to the point where he must "lay down and hope for the best." He said he's comforted a bit by knowing what they are and his history dealing with them.
"They're real bad," Harvin said. "It's hard to explain them for somebody who doesn't know them. It got real bad to the point where I had to shut it down. It's good that I've come back around to be around my teammates."
Harvin said he will continue to experiment with new procedures in consultation with neurological specialists.
"There's no magic cure. Different people will react to different medicines, so it's just kind of seeing what I react to," Harvin said. "I'm willing to take any opinion from the doctors, and hopefully we can come up with something that'll knock this thing out."
Harvin missed two games as a sophomore at Florida in 2007 because the headaches and their effects were so bad, and he has missed a handful of practices this year during flare-ups. Despite his absence from last week's victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Harvin is second on the Vikings in receiving and second in the NFL in kickoff returning.
Fellow wide receiver Sidney Rice was held out of practice for a second consecutive day because of an illness. He's also listed as questionable for Sunday, as is defensive end Ray Edwards because of a back injury. Safety Tyrell Johnson, who missed the last game recovering from a concussion, is listed as probable to play against the Panthers.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
