EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer tells local radio station KFXN-FM that running back Adrian Peterson has a torn meniscus in his right knee. On a first-and-10 play from the Green Bay 37-yard line, Peterson took a handoff and went for a 5-yard gain. After being examined on the sideline, Peterson hopped through a field-level club at the team’s new stadium toward the Vikings’ locker room.
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Zimmer wasn’t ready to rule out Peterson the game Sunday against Carolina (1-1), but recovery times for even minor meniscus tears usually take at least a couple of weeks.
But after the game Zimmer declared that Peterson’s knee “has calmed down” and there seemed to be an optimistic nature surrounding the injury. However, she said that probably was unlikely considering many National Football League players are able to put surgery off until the end of the season on a torn meniscus if they can play through the injury.
The Packers played their first two regular-season games on the road for the first time since – wait for it – 1924.
Sam Bradford had a Minnesota debut nearly as dazzling as the new $1.1 billion building itself, completing 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers to lead the Vikings to a 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. The running back tore his ACL and MCL towards the end of the season in 2011, but he bounced back in 2012 with an MVP season.
“(He is) going through the evaluation process to figure out what the next procedure will be and the options that we have”, Zimmer said.
As for McKinnon, he was a rookie in 2014, and carried the ball 113 times during Peterson’s absence.
Going forward, the Vikings do have two capable running backs already on their roster in Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon. They held the Packers to 65 total yards in the first half, withstanding an early touchdown pass by Rodgers to Jordy Nelson on a drive aided by two penalties by cornerback Terence Newman. He expects the same from his team following Peterson’s injury.
As Vikings fans and fantasy owners hold their breath, ESPN reports that Peterson’s injury might not be as serious as it looks.
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“You see hope in some plays, and in others, we just shoot ourselves in the foot and give up a sack or do something stupid, ” Boone said.
