Adrian Peterson will attempt to save the Minnesota Vikings’ season by returning in Week 16. He’s practicing for the first time since September.
Ever since Adrian Peterson suffered an injury in Week 2, we haven’t heard much from him. However, talks of a return this season started to heat up, and he only added fuel to that fire in an exclusive radio interview.
Famous Minnesota radio jockey DJ Skee landed an interview with All Day, and one of the topics that naturally came up was his health. Being the overconfident man that he is, Peterson said he is returning to practice for the first time since September, and still feels he has five more years of football left in him. He also stated that he’s eyeing a return in Week 16 when they face the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field:
Peterson on with @djskee. Goal is to play Dec. 24 at Packers. #Vikings https://t.co/hJGz5cKxkk
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) December 12, 2016
It’s great news for Minnesota Vikings fans, but it feels like too little, too late. Minnesota is two games back of the Detroit Lions for the NFC North lead, and just barely scraped by the Jacksonville Jaguars to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their division record also sits at 1-3 — after beating the Packers in Week 2, they lost twice to the Lions, and to the Chicago Bears.
However, Week 16 is a critical stretch for the Vikings in that they face the Packers and Bears to close out the season. Peterson should be commended for attempting to come back at an important time for the Vikings, but he might be putting his personal health at risk if he’s coming back too soon.
A 50% healthy Peterson also doesn’t make the Vikings the best team in the NFC North. They may have the best defense in that division, but their anemic offense has cost them way too many games this year. The Packers, by contrast, are being led by a red-hot Aaron Rodgers, and picked off Russell Wilson five times. Their defense isn’t too shabby either, and they’re becoming a team that nobody wants to face.
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Peterson may be an all-time great, but nobody can just return from an injury like that. Then again, we can’t really assess what he’ll look like until we see him out on the football field.
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