Vikings place Adrian Peterson on IR, earliest he can return is Week 11
Peterson will undergo surgery on his meniscus
Adrian Peterson officially landed on injured reserve on Friday, which means his season is over until at least Week 11 (Nov. 20). It also means that either Peterson or offensive tackle Matt Kalil won't be able to play at all again this season.
The Vikings placed both players on injured reserve and they're only able to bring one player off the list. Assuming Peterson can get healthy in time, he'll probably get the nod -- you know, because he's Adrian freakin' Peterson.
Still, it's uncertain if he'll be healthy enough to contribute at a later point. That Nov. 20 date seems unlikely, with December or January probably being a more likely target for his return.
In case you somehow missed it, Peterson tore his meniscus last weekend. Despite the Vikings' initial optimism that Peterson wouldn't miss a huge chunk of time, he's facing a lengthy recovery after he opted to have it surgically repaired.
The Vikings are now riding Sam Bradford, Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata on the offensive side of the ball. None of those players were supposed to play huge roles as recently as a month ago, but injuries to Teddy Bridgewater and Peterson have forced them into the spotlight.
But, as CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora wrote, the Vikings offense could actually improve sans Peterson, who struggled mightily in the first games of the year, averaging 1.6 yards per carry:
As long as Peterson is in the lineup, he's going to get fed a decent workload and there is going to be an onus on running plays that cater to his strength, but he's not as explosive and nimble as he was in his prime. Given the state of the offensive line, and the fact that Sam Bradford should be able to get the ball downfield more than Teddy Bridgewater (or Shaun Hill) could, having a back like Jerick McKinnon on the field more might not be the worst thing in the world.
Bradford can use the screen game as an extension/substitute for the run game, and McKinnon is good in space and can do more things outside the tackle. I kinda like the wrinkle, actually, and how coordinator Norv Turner might handle it.
If Peterson doesn't return, we might never see him carry the ball for the Vikings again. As our Will Brinson explained, "Peterson has a $6 million roster bonus due on March 9, 2017 and a salary of $18 million for the 2017 season."
But if they cut him before March 9, "they wouldn't carry any dead money on the cap and would free up $18 million in cap space," Brinson wrote.
At age 31, it's unlikely to expect Peterson to recover from surgery in a matter of a couple months. It's also unlikely the Vikings would want to keep him around for another year.
It's impossible to say for sure, but the Vikings' decision on Friday to place Peterson on IR might have just officially ended his Vikings career.
















