On Sunday night, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson suffered an injury to his right knee in the team’s 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Initially, the injury looked serious as Peterson couldn’t put any weight on the leg as he was helped back to the locker room, but reports came out on Tuesday that the situation may not be as bad as feared.
Those hopes have apparently been dashed as ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported this morning that Peterson has a bucket-handle tear in his meniscus and could be out for a minimum of three-to-four months following scheduled surgery on Thursday.
Peterson has what is known as “bucket handle tear.” I’m told that’s a minm of 3-4 months out & up 6months usually. Again Peterson has faith.
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 21, 2016
Peterson struggled through the first two games of 2016 as he’s posted 31 carries for 50 yards and two receptions for seven yards, but the Vikings are still 2-0 and were expecting to be serious contenders in the NFC. It’s the main reason that general manager Rick Spielman traded the team’s first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford when Teddy Bridgewater blew out his knee in training camp.
BREAKING: #Vikings RB Adrian Peterson having surgery tomorrow, likely out several months.
( @RapSheet ) pic.twitter.com/l9qqHBvNTu
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) September 21, 2016
This is the second time in three years that Peterson will miss a large majority of the season for the Vikings. In 2014, the NFL place Peterson on the commissioner’s exempt list after Adrian was investigated for child abuse in his home state of Texas. During that season, running back Matt Asiata led the Vikings with 570 rushing yards, but Jerick McKinnon averaged a higher 4.8 YPC compared to Asiata’s 3.5.
Asiata and McKinnon are expected to fill in for Peterson once again in 2016. Although head coach Mike Zimmer hasn’t publicly stated how he will use his two running backs, the expectation is that Asiata will be the short-yardage and goal-line back while McKinnon will start, handle the majority of the work between the 20s and fill the role of third-down back.
To fill Peterson’s spot on the depth chart, Spielman went out and signed Ronnie Hillman on Wednesday , according to ESPN Vikings beat writer Ben Goessling. Hillman previously played for the Denver Broncos, but was released after being beaten out by rookie Devontae Booker during training camp. Hillman rushed for 863 yards and seven touchdowns in 2015 while averaging 4.2 YPC during a timeshare with C.J. Anderson.
Excited for our guy @MrHillman2U in his new chapter with the @Vikings #Flash #Vikings #RonnieHillman pic.twitter.com/JCn2kRFOBU
— BG Sports Ent. Inc (@BGSportsEntInc) September 21, 2016
McKinnon has a great burst and has shown flashes of potential throughout his career, and Asiata is tough to bring down at the line-of-scrimmage, but neither guy is Adrian Peterson, which means the Vikings will have to find other ways to score points. Expect the onus to fall on Bradford’s shoulders as he played great against the Packers despite only being with the Vikings for a couple of weeks.
As if losing Bridgewater and Peterson wasn’t enough, the Vikings also announced on Wednesday that starting left tackle Matt Kalil had been placed on injured reserve due to a hip injury that he battled through Weeks 1 and 2. The injury will end Kalil’s streak of 66 consecutive starts to begin his career as the former USC star had only missed seven total snaps entering Week 3.
Most teams would be dead in the water after losing their starting quarterback, top playmaker on offense and starting left tackle, but the Minnesota Vikings are still in solid position in a watered-down NFC. Bradford is a more than capable replacement for Bridgewater, and he has a budding star on the outside in Stefon Diggs.
With the way the Vikings can play defense, don’t count them out despite the injury Adrian Peterson.
[Featured Image by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images]