AP

When Desmond Bishop signed with the Vikings, a common response was to wonder whether or not he’d take over the middle linebacker job from Erin Henderson.

Henderson has maintained his grip on the job and now the question around Bishop is whether or not he’ll wind up making the 53-man roster in Minnesota at all. Bishop missed the preseason opener with a groin injury after missing all of last season with a torn hamstring, which left coach Leslie Frazier to say that he needs Bishop to prove he can stay on the field if the team is going to keep him around in the regular season.

“This is going to determine whether or not he makes our team,” Frazier said, via Dan Wiederer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “So much of this is about how he plays over the next two weeks. Or if he’s not available because of his injury. I can’t say it any simpler than that. It’s a big two weeks for him. He needs to show us he can help our football team in order to make our team.”

Or, to put it another way, you can’t make the club in the tub.

Frazier also said that Bishop has a “cleverness” to his game that would seem to serve him well in the push to make the team, but, again, that cleverness only helps if Bishop’s actually able to be on the field. Bishop acknowledges the urgency to the situation, but says he remains confident that he’ll be able to convince the Vikings of his usefulness in the next couple of weeks.