On Monday, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson promised that the Vikings offense will be less predictable than it has been in the past few seasons.
Peterson said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune, that “you won’t be able to write” the same stories about the lack of versatility in the Vikings’ offense. Based on coach Mike Zimmer’s own comments Monday, the team won’t be providing many hints about Peterson’s role in the new scheme until the regular season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Zimmer said there is “nothing to see” from Peterson in the preseason that the team needs to prepare for the season. Zimmer allowed that Peterson may make a cameo appearance if the running back feels it will benefit him to see action in a preseason game, but it doesn’t look like the coaching staff views it as any kind of a priority.
Whatever the Vikings offense winds up looking like this season, Peterson is going to be playing a major role in it. The injury risks involved with playing Peterson, then, are pretty great when the rewards for preseason reps are going to be low for a player of his stature. There are more rewards to be found in giving the rest of the offensive players work, though, and that sounds like the priority in Minnesota this summer.