All eyes will be on Adrian Peterson this afternoon as he dresses in full pads for the first time since he ruptured his ACL last season.
The defense has been told, in no uncertain terms, that Peterson is not to be taken to the ground during practice. The running back is way ahead of schedule from his surgery which occurred seven-and-a-half months ago.
The quick rehab has not surprised anyone affiliated with the team, including veteran center John Sullivan.
"That's just Adrian," he said. "He's a freak."
Head coach Leslie Frazier said one of the biggest challenges now is to advance to quickly with Peterson's continued recovery. He said the rehab is a gradual process and he has stressed the word "incremental" when talking to Peterson and the other players.
That the running back has progressed so quickly is a testament to his physical prowess and recuperative powers but surgical advances likely have a lot to do with it as well. Ten years ago players with that type of injury would be out a lot longer and might never completely recover. Nowadays most of them seem to back close to 100 percent within a year.
With or without Peterson, Frazier said the team's offensive game plan will the same on opening day of the season. Although Peterson and Toby Gerhart are different types of runners, he expects offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave to call the same plays regardless of who is in the starting backfield.
It sounds as if wide receiver Jerome Simpson may start getting his practice time with the first team scaled back after this weekend. Simpson is going to miss the first three regular season games because of a drug violation and his replacements need to get ready for Week 1.
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