Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson to Undergo Surgery Thursday
By Ryan Palmer
When it rains, it pours for the Minnesota Vikings. Adrian Peterson will undergo surgery for what is known as a “bucket handle tear.”
Some teams just can’t catch a break, no pun intended. After Teddy Bridgewater went down, the Minnesota Vikings now have another major obstacle to overcome, losing Adrian Peterson.
Peterson will need surgery to repair a tear in his right knee. He could be out as long as six months, possibly missing yet another season for the Minnesota Vikings.
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.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 21, 2016
The curse of being a Viking’ fan continues. Adrian Peterson is scheduled to go under the scalpel this Thursday. The familiar saying around Winter Park this year has been, “who’s the next man up.”
Where do we go from here
Fortunately or unfortunately, Mike Zimmer has been in this situation before. Every fan remembers the 2014 debacle in which Peterson missed almost the entire season due to suspension. The workload will once again fall on Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata.
In 2014 their combined stats are as follows-
| Attempts Yards TD’s |
277 1,108 9
Both Asiata and McKinnon bring a different skill-set to the table. Asiata is the power back, while McKinnon is the shifty third down specialist. It’s impossible to replace a future Hall of Fame caliber player in Adrian Peterson, but these two have been there before.
Could this injury be career ending for Adrian Peterson
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It’s possible. The 31- year old was not exactly off to a great start in 2016. Peterson was averaging less than two yards per carry, and had fifty total rushing yards in two games. Adrian does possess super-human powers when it comes to recovering from an injury, but even for him this might be too much to overcome.
The pressure is amped-up on Sam Bradford
Talk about having a lot on your proverbial plate, Sam Bradford has to be feeling the pressure. Bradford was forced to learn a new offense in about sixteen days, and now he has lost his biggest weapon on offense. Even with Adrian Peterson’s struggles, opponents were still stacking the box. Let us hope Bradford still continues to shine despite all of the setbacks.
Sad day for Minnesota Viking’ fans
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Love em’ or hate em’, Adrian Peterson carried this offense season after season. Nobody would want Peterson to end his career in this fashion, it just seems unfair. Mike Zimmer will do his best to rally the troops, and hopefully their success will bring a little happiness to our beast of a running back.