EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Even though Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was finally back on the practice field for a half-hour on Tuesday, after missing most of the team's offseason program with an injury, he still hasn't had much work in the Vikings' defense this spring.

Barr was limited to individual drills on Tuesday, and while coach Mike Zimmer has said Barr should be fine for training camp, the linebacker still won't have many team snaps before that point.

Despite missing the bulk of the 11-on-11 work in the Vikings' offseason program, though, Barr still is well ahead of last year in one meaningful respect. A year ago, he was finishing classes at UCLA until just before Vikings training camp, communicating over Skype with linebackers coach Adam Zimmer and trying to visualize where he would fit in the team's defense. Barr had spent only two years as a linebacker with the Bruins, and he had to undertake a crash course in the technique of Zimmer's defense during training camp last summer.

That still led to an impressive rookie season before a knee injury cut it short, and assuming Barr is healthy by training camp, he should be preparing to be a major piece in the Vikings' defense. Barr's strong-side linebacker position is one of the most disruptive in Zimmer's scheme, and he became a big piece of the Vikings' pass rush last year, lining up in their double-A gap blitz package and shifting to defensive end during the early part of last season. He had four sacks last year and could wind up with more if the Vikings add new facets to their blitz package in 2015.

"We've talked about some [changes], and we'll probably start practicing it a little more once training camp starts," Barr said. "I'm excited. I feel a lot more comfortable than I did at this time last year. I kind of understand what my role is, and what I'm asked to do."

Neither Barr nor Zimmer has been willing to discuss the linebacker's injury, other than to say it's not related to last year's knee surgery and isn't a long-term concern. Zimmer spent extra time with Barr last year, believing the rookie had the ability to contribute quickly in the Vikings' defense, and before he hurt his knee, Barr was in the conversation for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

"I think he can be a huge weapon," defensive end Brian Robison said. "He can rush off the edge, he can jump into coverage, he can play the run. He's a guy that can do pretty much everything. The more he can do, the more myself and Everson (Griffen) can do. If we can do a lot of things to keep offenses off balance, it helps us be successful on game day."

This year, Barr's not being asked to learn a new defense in a condensed period of time. And even though he hasn't been on the practice field much yet, Barr believes he's made progress.

"That definitely helps, especially the mental part," he said. "I think we're a lot further this year than we were at this time last year. I think everybody's excited, and we're making progress."