Minnesota Vikings players, coaches and fans let out a collective sigh of relief Wednesday after hearing the injury that forced Adrian Peterson out of practice on Tuesday is not serious.
‘We all held our breath for a second, but Adrian is fine,” Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner told reporters, after Peterson missed Wednesday morning’s walkthrough.
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Peterson left Tuesday’s practice with what was determined to be a thigh bruise. He went down on a run after a defender’s helmet hit his thigh.
Turner said he did not expect Peterson to participate in Wednesday’s afternoon practice.
The news about the severity of Peterson’s injury didn’t come as a big surprise. Teammates, including backfield mate Jerick McKinnon, told reporters after Tuesday evening’s practice that Peterson would be fine.
AP didn’t play in the Vikings preseason opener on Sunday and wasn’t expected to play in any of the preseason games.
He missed the last 15 games of last season after being suspended for a child-abuse incident. The regular season is set to open Sept. 14 at San Francisco.
A big season from Peterson would be important to the Vikings offense and would help take some pressure off second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. As a result of his return, many NFL experts are picking the Vikings as surprise playoff contenders in the NFC.
Tuesday, Bovada named him one of the three most likely players to take home the NFL MVP in 2015, giving him 12-1 odds. Those odds placed him only behind Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck as favorites to win the award.
