Adrian Peterson indicated on Dash Radio that he will be playing on Sunday when Minnesota hosts the Indianapolis Colts. Peterson, who has been out with a meniscus tear he suffered during the week 2 contest against the Green Bay Packers, will bring a welcome boost to a currently faltering Minnesota run game. Currently ranked last in the league, Minnesota will look to ease Peterson in against what is sure to be a faulty and very exploitable Colts defense.
BREAKING: #Vikings RB @AdrianPeterson just told @Dash_Radio he his going to play in Week 15 against the Colts.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) December 16, 2016
Adrian Peterson Indicates Return Against Indianapolis Colts
After losing starting middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson to a four-game suspension for a PED violation earlier this month, the Colts will also be without defensive end Arthur Jones for Sunday’s contest. Jones is considered an extremely valuable piece of the Colts defensive front, and his absence marks a golden opportunity for a rested and fully-healthy Adrian Peterson to wreak havoc.
Peterson, who will bolster a rushing attack that is averaging less than 75 yards per game without him, will hope to return to his 2015 form where he rushed for nearly 1,500 yards in 16 games for a 4.5 yards per carry average. The current stable of Vikings running backs, consisting of Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, is averaging around 3.1 yards per carry with seven combined touchdowns on the season.
Considering Peterson’s prolific ability to not only create opportunities after first contact, but also to get into the endzone, we can expect Mike Zimmer’s offensive game plan to adjust appropriately in order to account for his game-breaking ability. That being said, Peterson will be wearing a knee brace and most likely will be doing everything he can to refrain from re-injuring his right knee.
"I definitely plan on keeping the knee brace on for me to make sure that I'm protected." – @AdrianPeterson
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 15, 2016
Peterson will hope to bolster the Vikings recent red zone woes, as they were able to get inside the 25 yard line five separate times against the Jaguars last week, but unable to convert any of the opportunities into touchdowns. Two of those opportunities ended on the one yard line – where Peterson is known to excel.
The Vikings host the Colts at 12:00PM Central Standard Time on Sunday.
