Adrian Peterson ‘hopes’ to play, MN Vikings would be wise to hold him out
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowksi-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Vikings superstar running back Adrian Peterson is still dealing with a nagging groin injury that he suffered a few weeks ago, but the biggest injury he has right now is a sprained foot. The Vikings wisely opted to rest him in Week 15 and upset the Philadelphia Eagles, although Peterson was upset that the Vikings held him out of that game. They answered his request to play by putting him out there last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he was simply too hobbled to get anything going. The Vikings pulled Peterson out of the game early in the second half, and Peterson didn’t protest much.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins, Adrian Peterson is still holding out hope that he will be able to play in Sunday’s season finale against the Detroit Lions. However, Peterson still isn’t sure if he’ll be able to play and stated that he needs to wait a “few days” to see how he feels”.
The Vikings would be wise to hold Peterson out of this week’s game against the Lions, because it’s a meaningless contest at this point. Their season has long been decided, and they won’t get the satisfaction of knocking the Lions out of playoff contention either, since the Lions already knocked themselves out with last week’s putrid performance against the New York Giants.
There’s simply no point in playing Peterson and risking further injury to the star RB, no matter how much he wants to play. The Vikings need to say, “Look, AP. We love you and you’re awesome, and that’s why we’re going to hold you out of this week’s game. Take an early offseason and rest up for next year, because we’ll be better then. You’re hurt, and there’s no point in risking either of your injuries for a meaningless, Week 17 game.”
I expect the Vikings to do exactly that, so my gut says that we won’t see Peterson on Sunday.