Peterson returns to field, says he ‘made a mistake’
THE SPORTS XCHANGE
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — An apologetic Adrian Peterson showed up Tuesday for the Minnesota Vikings’ second week of organized team activities.
He was greeted by open arms and hugs from teammates and coaches. He practiced, allowing offensive coordinator Norv Turner to fool the defense with a play-action deep pass on Peterson’s first snap since he was exiled from the team and the NFL when a Houston grand jury handed down an indictment on child abuse charges last September.
And then Peterson faced the media for 19 minutes. He’s likely to score even more points with a skeptical and sour fan base for the remorseful tone he took and for admitting multiple times that “I made a mistake” for the injuries he caused when he used a wooden switch to discipline his 4½-year-old son.
“The first person I apologized to was my son,” Peterson said. “That was right after the situation took place, when I realized what had happened. I apologized about the mistake that I made. It wasn’t my intentions. And I’ve been trying to move forward since. I made a mistake, and I don’t take that lightly.”
Last week, the already-rocky relationship between the Vikings and Peterson seemed to crack a little further when voluntary OTAs opened and Peterson was the only player not to attend.
Coach Mike Zimmer said Peterson had two choices: play for the Vikings or no one. Peterson, meanwhile, went on a Twitter rant about his contract, which still has about $45 million left over three years but no more guaranteed money.
On Tuesday, Peterson said he missed last week’s OTAs because of a personal commitment. Zimmer said the Vikings made no contractual concessions to get Peterson to show up but added, “I’ll always fight for my players.”
Zimmer also said he didn’t mean for last week’s statement to be confrontational toward Peterson.
“We welcome him with open arms, unequivocally,” Zimmer said. “He’s been such a tremendous part of this organization. I have the utmost respect for him. I always have. I’ve always supported him 100 percent and will continue to do so as long as he’s with us. And hopefully that’s for a long, long time.”
Zimmer called Peterson “a Hall of Fame player,” and Peterson returned the compliment by saying the current coaching staff is the best he has had in Minnesota.
And, for the record, Peterson also stood to lose $250,000 in bonus money if he were to have missed too many OTA practices.