VIKINGS COACH ZIMMER BACK AT WORK

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has returned to the team after taking time to tend to his ailing right eye. The team announced Monday that Zimmer was back on the field to start another week of voluntary practices. Zimmer was ordered last month to skip some of the team’s offseason practices, return to his ranch in Kentucky and rest an eye that has needed eight surgeries to address a detached retina. Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera says quarterback Cam Newton is ahead of schedule in his rehab from shoulder surgery and is expected to begin throwing next week at minicamp. Newton will start by throwing on a side field away from team drills under the supervision of head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion. Newton has not thrown since having surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder in March.

Elvis Dumervil has agreed to a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, according to a tweet from general manager John Lynch. Dumervil, 33, has 99 sacks over 11 seasons split between the Denver Broncos (2006-12) and Baltimore Ravens (2013-16), including 17 in 2014. But he has just nine total the last two seasons and was limited to eight games in 2016 with a foot injury.