Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson vows to be on the field for the team's regular-season opener. With four weeks to go, he remains stashed away on the active/physically unable to perform list, but his status might change this weekend.
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Coach Leslie Frazier plans to talk with his staff on Saturday about activating Peterson on Sunday. The two-time All-Pro is on his way back after tearing anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.
"We're going to discuss it," Frazier told ESPN Twin Cities. "We'll discuss where he is and what's the next step for him this week, whether we continue to work through rehab or how we want to approach it."
Peterson has yet to practice with the team during training camp, leaving Toby Gerhart as Minnesota's lead runner. Gerhart was productive in Friday's preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, carrying the ball five times for 31 yards. The Vikings like Gerhart's blast-ahead style, and even if Peterson returns, coaches will monitor his workload.
Minnesota isn't about to rush Peterson into action. Nobody inside the organization is about to voice this, but the Vikings are knee-deep in a rebuilding process that Peterson alone can't rescue them from. If he returns to form, Peterson remains the game's best running back, and that alone is worth waiting for.
