EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- We talked last night about howBen Tate would have to work his way into a three-man running back committee now that the Minnesota Vikings claimed him off waivers. In the eyes of offensive coordinator Norv Turner, the pecking order of that committee hasn't changed.

Turner said the Vikings are still optimistic about rookie Jerick McKinnon, who has averaged 4.9 yards per carry in Adrian Peterson's absence and has served as the Vikings' primary ball carrier since Peterson was placed on the commissioner's exempt list on Sept. 17. Tate was added in part, Turner said, because the Vikings began the week with one healthy running back -- both McKinnon and Matt Asiata missed Wednesday's practice with a low back strain and a concussion, respectively -- but McKinnon plans to play on Sunday, and it appears he'll be the Vikings' main runner.

"I think we’re excited about Jerick and what he’s done,” offensive coordinator Norv Turner said on Thursday. “I see him as our running back. He's been limited in practice last week, and couldn't practice yesterday. You've got to protect yourself, obviously, with Matt not being able to practice yesterday. It's in doubt as to whether he'll play or not. We had one back who could practice yesterday. That's a big part of it."

McKinnon only had one carry in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears, and said on Wednesday he'd like to get more carries. "I'd like to see him get more carries, and I know how that all goes," Turner said. "Games come up different. We've been able to get in those situations where you get him the ball and he's done well. He's going to be a very good back in this league."

Tate was at the Vikings' facility on Thursday morning to begin work with the team, but Turner wasn't sure yet how big of a role he could have on Sunday.

"We'll hopefully get him to be ready to go and contribute," Turner said. "We'll see how he handles it, see what our situation is. If you water it down too much, those guys on the other side, it's pretty obvious to them, but hopefully there's some things we can get him involved in."