But Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said the timetable for Peterson’s return won’t be clear until after the procedure. The Vikings rank fifth in total defense, scored two touchdowns in the season-opening 25-16 victory in Tennessee and kept Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense under wraps in the 17-14 win on Sunday night.
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“We’ve seen it before, ” McKinnon said.
WAYNES WORLD: The knee injury that kept Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes out of the first two games thrust Trae Waynes, the team’s first-round draft pick past year, into an elevated role.
The move means Peterson, who had a successful meniscus fix surgery Thursday, is out for at least eight weeks.
“The rehabilitation process will begin immediately”, the team said. “Could be season-ending. Could be three weeks, four weeks”.
Kalil was placed on injured reserve with a lingering hip problem that he played through in the first two games.
Zimmer said the Vikings “are not really going to change much” offensively with Peterson out.
“Jacoby has done a good job for us”.
“I haven’t been here long, but I think we’ve got a great group of running backs”, quarterback Sam Bradford said. If the Vikings offense wallowed without Peterson, the necessity to pony up more money would be increased.
The Vikings will need to get their wounded offense moving somehow, and it is not likely the latest addition, former Broncos running back Hillman, will be ready to do that.
And the Minnesota Vikings will be facing a major challenge when they take on the Carolina Panthers during week 3 of the National Football League season.
The Vikings sit atop the NFC North as one of three NFC teams with a flawless 2-0 record. Bosa missed all of training camp due to a contract dispute and developed a hamstring injury after signing with the Chargers.
Looking for a little good news out of Winter Park?
The new NFL rule allows teams to not have designate which player will return from injured reserve up front, which could allow Peterson to return by November 20, although his recovery is expected to take longer than that, according to NFL Network’s Conor Orr.
Rhodes has returned to practice this week, which could affect Waynes’ playing time. He is the tallest cornerback on the team, and the defense could use every bit of his 6-foot-1 frame to stop the Panthers’ lengthy wideouts Kelvin Benjamin (6-foot-5) and Devin Funchess (6-foot-4). Though this could be the best defense the Panthers will face this season. There are some things we took advantage of with him in the game.
In the here and now, the Vikings have exponentially more big questions than answers beyond the 2016 season.
“That’s why we have 53 guys here, so that we can try to win as a team”.
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With Teddy Bridgewater out at least this season after suffering multiple knee injuries before the regular season, Bradford has a chance to make Minnesota his home.
