The Minnesota Vikings have reinstated running back Adrian Peterson following his arrest and indictment on child abuse charges in Texas for disciplining his son and now he will start for fantasy football owners in Week 3 over Matt Asiata, as the Vikes realize that the New Orleans Saints game is a big one and they would like to have their star RB back in the lineup.
Peterson was deactivated for the game against the Patriots as the Vikings gathered information about his charges, which detailed his discipline of his son that apparently got out of hand. According to Pro Football Talk, the Vikings have announced that Peterson will be back with the team and it's likely that he will start in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints. The team used Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon against the Patriots in the loss on Sunday and now owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf have announced that Peterson will be back in the lineup.
The team cited due process at first after deactivating Peterson, but with a big matchup against the Saints looming, the team threw that out the window and activated their star. Whether or not you believe in harsh discipline of corporal punishment, it's clear from the police report that Peterson went overboard. Peterson is one of the best players in NFL history and it's not a surprise to see the Vikings treating him this way heading into a major matchup.
Peterson started off the season with a solid game of 75 yards on 21 carries with two receptions for 18 yards and now he will be starting again once the Vikings get on the field Sunday. Peterson was charged with negligent injury to a child and while those charges are serious, the Vikings winning games is just as important to the franchise. Actually that could be more important to the Vikings and it likely is. The Vikings won over the Rams in Week 1, but they were beaten badly by the Pats and missing Adrian Peterson likely was one of the main reasons why.
Asiata came in last season when Peterson was injured and played well and he ended up with over 100 total yards in the game on Sunday. Asiata is an option in deeper leagues in case this issue keeps coming up, but for now Peterson is back in the starting lineup. This season Asiata has 46 yards in two games with six catches for 53 yards and he basically did all of that in Week 2, putting up 13 rushes for 36 yards and also catching a receiving touchdown.
McKinnon played a high number of snaps on Sunday, but that was only due to Peterson being out and with AP coming back, McKinnon likely will not see much playing time. McKinnon finished with four touches on the day and he has just eight yards on the ground this season. Fantasy owners are thrilled to have Peterson back and so are the Vikings, even with the charges against him. Peterson got hit with those at probably the worst time he could have, as the NFL is dealing with the Ray Rice controversy now.