The Minnesota Vikings are still hoping that star running back Adrian Peterson can return from reconstruction surgery on his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in time for the regular season. As it stands, he's only about seven months removed from the injury that was suffered on Dec. 24 against the Washington Redskins.
That being said, training camp is starting and the Vikings may need the roster spot while Peterson isn't ready to go. As such, Tom Pelissero of ESPN Twin Cities is reporting that the Vikings are expected to place Peterson on the physically unable to perform list.
Two NFL sources said the Vikings planned to place Adrian Peterson on the active/physically unable to perform list before their first walkthrough on Friday, barring the unlikely event the star halfback can talk them out of it.
If it's all in doubt as to whether or not Peterson can even begin the regular season in time, it wouldn't make sense to keep him active for all of training camp and the preseason. A player on the PUP list cannot practice with the team or play in any preseason games, but can be activated at any time.
The Vikings can activate Peterson prior to the start of the regular season, but then he would have to remain on the roster if not placed on injured reserve. If they keep him on the PUP at the start of the regular season, then Peterson will have to miss the first six weeks of the season. It's likely they'll pull him off before the start of the regular season, though.
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