Marcus Sherels did not waste any time redeeming himself Sunday after foolishly fair-catching a punt inside his 5-yard line against the Detroit Lions.

On the next change of possession, the Vikings’ special-teams gunner buried Lions returner Stefan Logan for a loss before ripping off a 53-yard return to set up the touchdown that gave Minnesota a 20-0 lead it ultimately blew.

Nonetheless, Sherels, who won the punt return job in his first year on the 53-man roster, has emerged as a reliable contributor to both the return and coverage teams. Easily coached and eager to learn is how special-teams coach Mike Priefer described the Vikings’ only Minnesota-born and bred player, from Rochester.

“He’s going to make plays. He does everything we ask him to do the way we ask him to do it,” Priefer said Thursday. “He’s taken the bull by the horns and done a great job with it.”

Sherels, an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota, spent all but the 2010 season finale on the practice squad. He takes as much satisfaction stuffing a returner as breaking off a long run.

“They’re similar. If you’re helping the team, everyone’s getting excited, and that’s good,” said Sherels, who scored a touchdown on an interception return during the preseason. “You have to learn from your mistakes, forget about it and try to make a play to make up for it. That’s what I tried to do.”

Priefer said Sherels, who stands 5 feet 10 and weighs 175 pounds, plays bigger than his size but must work to avoid taking on the bigger corners and safeties targeting him in coverage.

“He’s been locked up a few times this year,” Priefer said. “But he’s courageous; he’s tough. He’s made plays on kickoff guys his size are not supposed to make.”

Injury update: Running back Adrian Peterson was limited in practice after sitting out Wednesday because of a bruised calf but vowed he would play Sunday at Kansas City.

Linebacker E.J. Henderson (knee) also was limited. Coach Leslie Frazier said the team is regulating his work after Henderson had his knee drained two weeks ago.

High winds drove the Vikings indoors to the fieldhouse at Winter Park for practice, and Frazier acknowledged that the FieldTurf probably did not help Henderson’s knee.

“Still looked tender. (We’ll) have to see how he does tomorrow,” Frazier said. “I’m hoping we don’t get in a situation where we have to drain his knee periodically. I’m hoping that with rest and our monitoring his reps, he’ll get better over time.”

Safety Tyrell Johnson (hip) and tight end Jim Kleinsasser (elbow) also were limited in practice.

Williams responding: Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac said tackle Kevin Williams played about 15 to 20 more snaps than the team expected against the Lions after being sidelined for two weeks while serving his StarCaps suspension.

Williams also is battling plantar fasciitis.

“Happy to have him back,” Pagac said. “Whatever he did during his two weeks off, he did a good job of staying in shape and working out.”

Follow Brian Murphy at twitter.com/murph1171.