Adrian Peterson ended last season on a pretty ugly note when he suffered a gruesome-looking knee injury late in the season as the Minnesota Vikings struggled to an ugly end of their season. There has been quite a bit of positive news coming out of the running back's camp, though, and most reports assume he's on a pretty good pace as far as his rehab is concerned.
That doesn't necessarily mean that Peterson's completely healthy, however, as 1500 ESPN's Judd Zulgad did a bit of reading between the lines this week while talking to Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier.
"But based on where he is today, everything is moving in the right direction. I don't know if we'll put him on the practice field anytime soon when we get to Mankato. But everything indicates there's a very good chance he may be ready for that Jacksonville game (to open the regular season on Sept. 9). We're still far enough out that you really can't say that right now."
Reading between the lines, it seems like the Vikings' plan right now might be to open camp with Peterson on the physically unable to perform list. That move would make him ineligible to practice and not open the door for Peterson to talk his way onto the field.
It wouldn't be the worst news in the world if Peterson opened preseason on the PUP list, but it's still far too early to tell whether or not he'll be ready for Week 1 of the NFL's regular season.
For reaction and updates on Peterson's injury status, visit Vikings blog Daily Norseman and SB Nation Minnesota.