Adrian Peterson has long maintained a goal of playing in Week One of the regular season, but he was always iffier about his chances of getting on the field at the start of training camp.
That hedge turned out to be a wise one because Peterson is on the phyiscally-unable-to-perform list for the Vikings as their training camp gets underway. Coach Leslie Frazier said that the team felt it was the right move at the time and that Peterson would be regularly evaluated by the medical staff in hopes of shedding the designation. Frazier also said that Peterson didn’t accept the news without a fight.
“He put up a fight. He did,” Frazier said, via Tom Pelissero of ESPN1500.com. “Knowing Adrian like you guys do, he wanted to make sure. ‘Coach, don’t hold me back. Let me get out there.’ He wants to get out there, but we’ve got to be smart. We need to see him do a few things and then make a determination. But if he had his way, he’d be getting involved.”
The move isn’t surprising. Peterson can come off the PUP list at any time, but he can’t go back onto it once he participates in a practice and therefore would be ineligible for the reserve PUP list that goes into effect at the start of the regular season. The Vikings don’t anticipate needing that, but a little caution now isn’t the worst thing. As long as all signs keep pointing to Peterson being ready for the regular season, there’s no reason to be alarmed by Friday’s decision.