EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — No matter what message the Minnesota Vikings shared publicly, the makeup of the roster made it clear that 2014 was always going to be a rebuilding year.

That, of course, became especially true when the team’s best player, running back Adrian Peterson, was removed from the team following the 34-6 season-opening win at St. Louis.

With Peterson on the commissioner’s special exempt list as he first battled a felony child abuse charge and now jousts the league for his reinstatement, the losses mounted but the value of the season didn’t disappear entirely.

Once rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater stepped in after veteran Matt Cassel broke his foot in the first half of a Week 3 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Vikings had a rebirth of sorts.

After a competitive three-point loss to the Packers two weeks ago and a rout of the Panthers last week, progress is being made at quarterback and on defense — last year’s two biggest weaknesses — as the Vikings take a 5-7 record into Sunday’s game against the 2-10 Jets at TCF Bank Stadium.

A win will give the Vikings one more win in Mike Zimmer’s first year as head coach than the total posted during Leslie Frazier’s final season as head coach.

“It’s a growing process; every week you want to see guys get better,” said wide receiver Greg Jennings, who had a touchdown catch last week. “Obviously (Bridgewater) is going to get the brunt of everything because he is in the high-profile position. The way he bounces back, the way he performs, the way he leads without audibly saying anything, he’s a special kid to be around.”

Bridgewater is coming off a career-high 120.7 passer rating while playing turnover-free during the seventh-coldest (12 degrees) home game in franchise history. Meanwhile, the defense climbed to 10th in yards allowed and the special teams produced just the fifth game in NFL history with two blocked punts returned for touchdowns in the same game.

Several players are stepping up with career years. Players such as defensive end Everson Griffen and cornerback Xavier Rhodes. But, ironically, receiver-kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson, the one player who was widely regarded nationally as a “breakout player” candidate this summer, continues to regress.

Patterson’s stagnant career reached a new low last Sunday when he played just three offensive snaps and four on special teams. After the game, he told reporters he was confused about his lack of playing time. He said he was on board with whatever the coaching staff decided and told reporters they needed to ask Zimmer what was going on.

When Zimmer was asked, he revealed that Patterson missed practice the Wednesday and Thursday before the game to attend a funeral. Making matters worse was a knee injury that the Vikings couldn’t evaluated from Tuesday until Patterson returned on Friday. So, mystery solved, the Vikings couldn’t afford to make him part of the game plan.

Zimmer has expressed frustration with Patterson not being where he’s supposed to be in his route running. Meanwhile, as Patterson has caught just 30 passes, including zero against the Panthers and just two the previous week against the Packers, the team has turned to Charles Johnson, who wasn’t even with the team on opening day, as their No. 1 receiving target.

Johnson, a seventh-round pick of the Packers a year ago, was signed in late September and made his NFL debut in Green Bay on Oct. 2. Three weeks ago, he had six catches for 87 yards in only 25 snaps against the Bears. Since then, he has played in 113 of 116 snaps against the Packers and Panthers.

While Patterson’s career regresses, Johnson has been getting open and has been targeted 21 times in the past three weeks. He has responded with 11 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown.

Zimmer, meanwhile, insists he is willing to be patient with Patterson, a raw receiver who played just one season at the University of Tennessee before being thrust into two different offensive systems in his first two NFL seasons.

“I’m going to keep saying this over and over until somebody believes me; I am in this guy’s corner,” Zimmer said. “The biggest thing for me is that, ‘We don’t want him in there, we don’t want to do this or we don’t want to do that.’ That’s ridiculous. I want every one of our players to be good and be great. We all want instant gratification, including myself, but sometimes it takes a little bit longer than it does.”

Zimmer then mentioned numerous defensive players who took extra time to be great during his time as Bengals defensive coordinator.

“I feel that way about Cordarrelle,” Zimmer said. “He’s going to be a good player. I don’t have any doubts in my mind.”

With four games left in a non-playoff season, Patterson is one of those players who can build toward next season. Now would be a good time to jump start his progress considering he is practicing this week and the Jets are tied for last in the league in touchdown passes allowed (27).