Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a torn meniscus is his right knee. Coach Mike Zimmer on Monday afternoon refused to rule out Peterson for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers, which suggests that the 31-year-old’s injury will not end his season.
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“We’re going through the evaluation process”, he said.
Zimmer said after looking back at the play, it appears Peterson had his foot planted and was hit from the side.
After being tackled on a five-yard run, Peterson was unable to put any weight on his knee.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall says his injured left knee is feeling better, and he hopes to play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. An MRI exam Monday detected the torn meniscus. He hobbled off the field with the assistance of athletic trainers.
Playing just two weeks after being acquired from Philadelphia in an emergency trade following the season-ending knee injury to Teddy Bridgewater, Bradford completed 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns.
The plan actually wasn’t for Sam Bradford to take his first Vikings snap Sunday night, but it worked out OK. Moira McCarthy, a sports medicine surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in NY, has operated on several National Football League players with torn meniscus injuries.
It nearly seemed Sunday night that McCarthy and Rodgers were trying to open up the run game with long passes instead of the other way around. Of course, Peterson’s previous injury history must be taken into account. McCarthy said if surgery is needed, it might be just to trim the meniscus.
The Vikings responded in the second quarter when Bradford found tight end Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for an 8-yard TD pass. Blair Walsh, who has struggled to start the season, kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7 with 10:18 left in the second quarter.
Sometimes it’s before the leaves turn color, sometimes after and quite a few times it’s during that Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy talks about needing to get his running backs involved more in his offense.
Peterson’s timetable for return is uncertain right now, as the seven-time Pro Bowler is currently weighing his recovery options. “[General manager] Rick [Spielman] has brought in a lot of high caliber guys… everything we do here is about the team”.
Still, while Peterson averaging an eye-opening 1.6 yards a carry in the first two games, he kept opportunities open for, first, Shaun Hill against the Titans, and then Bradford against the Packers.
Asiata and McKinnon filled in for Peterson when he missed the final 15 games in 2014 because of a child-abuse incident. Asiata is good friends with Peterson. “Division loss is even more frustrating, but we are just going to learn from it and just bounce back and just watch the film and bounce back from it”, Randall said. “It’s devastating to see your friend and your teammate go down”, Asiata said.
The challenge this week will be to do so without arguably their most important player in the running game.
He credited his team’s special teams performance – particularly the blocked punt which led to the Packers’ first of two touchdowns on the night. “Everything we do is for the team”. Zimmer does not believe Peterson’s injury could affect the team mentally.
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“Whatever it was, it calmed down now”, Zimmer said Sunday night. “We are still going through all the options”.
