A few years ago, the consensus around the NFL was that Adrian Peterson was the best running back in the league. There wasn’t much debate about Peterson’s status amongst other backs in the NFL as he had all the tools and had hit his prime.

Unfortunately, Peterson has been bitten by the injury bug due to his style of running. Peterson’s physical style of running the football is starting to weigh heavily on his performance as he can’t seem to stay healthy.

At the end of last season, Peterson played in the final regular season game for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings had already been knocked out of playoff contention long before the final game, but Peterson was reluctant to sit on the sidelines before heading into the off-season.

That choice to play the final game cost Peterson greatly as he went down with a torn ACL in his left knee. This kind of injury is always a game-changer for running backs as some players never return to form and need of a lot of time to recovery from surgery.

Fortunately for the Vikings, Peterson claims he’s good to go for the season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even though the perennial Pro Bowl running back is apparently ready to take the field for the first game of the season for Minnesota, the Vikings’ coaching staff might not be ready to put him back on the gridiron.

It’s obvious at this point that Peterson is anxious to get on the field and prove that last season’s injury hasn’t derailed his career. Despite Peterson’s enthusiasm to return to the field, the Vikings might feel more comfortable sitting him for Week 1 and trying to get him ready for Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.

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