Four months from the Vikings’ opener against the Jaguars, running back Adrian Peterson continues to believe he’ll be on the field.
Peterson told reporters on Wednesday that his recovery from his torn ACL is progressing well, and he said he’ll be surprised if he can’t play by September.
“I will be very surprised,” Peterson said. “I have been ahead of the schedule since day one. The staff here in Minnesota, the staff down in Houston, they have been doing a great job of just pushing me and pushing me, but having that limit on it, knowing I want to do this, I just have to play it slow and it will come. From square one I have been ahead of the curve. So, me personally, because that’s my goal, I set my goals and expectations high, and that first game against Jacksonville I plan on being back. It will be disappointing if I am not.”
Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman is emphasizing caution in Peterson’s recovery, and Peterson says he has taken that message to heart and isn’t pushing to do too much, too soon.
But Peterson can already run and is getting in better shape -- and as the picture here, taken on Wednesday, shows, he can jump.
“I think I’m doing pretty good, as far as running,” Peterson said. “Conditioning-wise I feel like I have a long ways to go, but I am making strides. The biggest hurdle I am trying to jump right now is being explosive, being able to cut like I once did before.”
In four months, Peterson sees himself being able to do everything like he did before.