Adrian Peterson Son Dies: Two-Year Old Child Beaten By Mother's Boyfriend Joseph Robert Patterson Dead After Abuse In Sioux Falls South Dakota

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is with the team back at the facility and was there for Friday workouts, but the star is dealing with a tragedy, as his 2-year-old son is now dead after being beaten by his mother's boyfriend in Sioux City, South Dakota where he is on life support in the hospital.

According to reports from ESPN.com, Deadspin.com, TMZ and Pro Football Talk, the son is not Adrian Peterson Jr., the publically known son of Peterson as many speculated, but another child that he had in "secret" with another woman that he does not have contact with. Peterson was away from the team on Thursday to deal with a "personal" matter and local reports along with national websites have been following the story, which started on Wednesday after authorities were called to the home where the boy was unresponsive and the boyfriend of the child's mother was taken into custody on felony charges.

Reports have said that the boy will be taken off life support if he does not become more responsive and that could happen later on Friday. Deadspin.com is reporting that City Pages writes that he could be taken off support and that means he likely is not expected to survive the injuries sustained in the beating by Robert Patterson, who allegedly is the boyfriend of the child's mother.

The man, 27-year-old Robert Patterson, was taken into custody and the report from Deadspin.com says that the man and the child's mother had only "recently" started seeing each other and that the relationship was "fairly new" when the two moved in to his home. ESPN.com reports that Patterson is in custody for the crime on charges of aggravated battery of an infant and if the child is taken off life support, those charges could be upgraded.

Peterson travelled to Sioux City on Thursday and his father Nelson Peterson confirmed that the boy was his grandson, although some mistakenly believed that the boy was Adrian Peterson Jr. but it is not him. The child was taken to the hospital after authorities arrived at the house and the injuries were looked at as abuse after he arrived there and then police arrested Patterson. According to the police report, at the time of the issue, the child was with Patterson and he was alone with him.

Peterson is leading the NFL with five touchdowns and is expected to start and play on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at home. Both teams are coming into the game at 1-3 and the tragic situation could be weighing heavily on Peterson on Sunday.