Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has the shock of his life when he got a call informing him that his Defensive tackle Linval Joseph had been shot in the leg at a local bar after the team's first exhibition game.

Much to his relief as well as for the team, Joseph was not part of the brawl but was just a casualty to the crime and that thankfully, he just suffered a minor injury at his calves. The incident happened when Joseph and a group of his team went out to celebrate their win against the Oakland Raiders when a man started shooting.

According to Zimmer recalling the incident "Oh, my God, and thank God he's OK. ''He's a terrific young man. He's a good, good kid, and we have a lot of good kids on this football team."

Now that Joseph has fully recovered, he returns to the team on their training camp last Sunday. Linebacker Jasper Brinkley said "''Life is precious. Glad to have him here, man."

According to Joseph in a statement "I appreciate everyone's thoughts and concerns over the past 24 hours. I am extremely thankful that this was a minor injury for me. ''As the team has communicated, this was an unfortunate situation where I, along with several others, was an innocent bystander to a senseless act. My thoughts are with all of the victims at this time. I am looking forward to getting back onto the field with my teammates in the near future."

Joseph is signed with Minnesota Vikings on a five-year contract worth as much as $31.5 million, with $12.5 million guaranteed.

Zimmer reiterates the importance of his safety to his team saying "''We have to be aware of our surroundings. We have to make sure we understand where we're going. We've got to make sure that we understand it. There's a chance that people try to make a name for themselves by doing something to somebody, a high-celebrity guy, and we just have to make sure we take care of each other and we have to know where we're at and where we want to go."