The Minnesota Vikings are coming into the season with high expectations on offense, as Adrian Peterson is back and Teddy Bridgewater has some solid weapons in Charles Johnson, Mike Wallace, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jarius Wright, Stefon Diggs, AP, Jerick McKinnon and Kyle Rudolph on the roster and this comes as Peterson likely will sit out the rest of the preseason.
The Vikings have tried to be cautious with Peterson, as the running back missed nearly all of last season while being put on the exempt list. Peterson played in just one game last year and head coach Mike Zimmer said that Peterson likely would not play at all during the preseason. According to Pro Football Talk, Peterson suffered a "minor" injury to his thigh in practice last week, but Zimmer said that it was not anything serious and should not linger.
Peterson is going to get a "heavy workload" this season according to Zimmer and the team feels that the preseason is not necessary for a player with so much experience. The extra rest could be good in the long run for Peterson and the Vikings have solid options in Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata on the roster. McKinnon comes in as the second back on the depth chart and he is the likely starter for the rest of the preseason. Both players contributed while Peterson was out last season and that experience could be very helpful for the 2015 season.
Teddy Bridgewater will be happy to have Peterson, as he had to play last year without the running back and that hurt the consistency of the rushing offense for the Vikings. Bridgewater had a strong rookie season with 14 touchdowns and a 64 percent completion rate and he now has more weapons with Wallace coming in after a trade. Wallace should help take pressure off both Johnson and Patterson, the latter of which has struggled with drops and inconsistency in his young career.
Charles Johnson emerged as a strong option for the Vikings and he likely will start alongside Wallace, as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that he is the receiver "Bridgewater trusts most." Johnson had 31 catches in 11 games last season and Wallace comes in looking to bounce back after some down years in Miami. Rookie Stefon Diggs likely will get a shot to contribute and he also will play some special teams for the Vikings. Patterson will need to show more to get playing time, as Wright has also been solid this summer and he comes in after making 42 catches last season.
The Vikings are also hopeful that first round pick Trae Waynes can contribute this season, as he struggled earlier in the preseason but has been improving. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, defensive coordinator George Edwards said that Waynes is "on course" and there is a good chance he will be used in the slot and in nickel coverage. The team likely will use Terence Newman and Xavier Rhodes as starters, but Waynes can step in if someone goes down.
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