The man they call All Day got a late start on Sunday.
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson took a cab to Soldier Field for the game against the Bears because the team’s bus left the hotel without him onboard. Peterson arrived at about 10:30 a.m. CT for the noon kickoff, about a half-hour after the rest of the team. Coach Leslie Frazier said Monday that he did not speak to Peterson before the running back got to the stadium, but he did know he wasn’t on the bus because “he’s Adrian Peterson, I know if he’s on or not on.”
“The conversation itself, I’ll keep between he and I. But we have talked about it. Hopefully, it will never happen again. I can’t see why it would. I hope it never will again,” Frazier said, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Well, anytime one of your leaders is not where he’s supposed to be, it’s not good. I talk to our team all the time about being where you’re supposed to be and being on time. It’s a big deal.”
Frazier didn’t say anything about any discipline, although he did say tardiness has never been a problem for Peterson in the past. Peterson declined to talk about his mode of transportation.
Peterson picked up a shoulder strain during the game, although neither it nor the late arrival to work stopped him from crossing the 100-yard mark for the fifth straight game. That’s the longest streak of Peterson’s career, a run that illustrates how successful he’s been in his return from last December’s serious knee injury.