Peterson, 31, hasn’t appeared in a preseason game in three years and hasn’t taken an exhibition carry in five years. It would’ve been presumed business as usual, though Zimmer continues to leave the door open for Peterson to get some work in preparation.
This exhibition slate doesn’t equate to last year’s preseason for Adrian Peterson.
Then, in 2015, Peterson had played just one regular season game under offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He was coming off a 15-game absence. And after his return to the Vikings came with some speed bumps in the offense, head coach Mike Zimmer openly questioned in January whether or not he should’ve given the former NFL MVP some looks in preseason games.