Adrian Peterson lobbied hard to play the first two preseason games, but Leslie Frazier wasn't about to allow that.

Instead, Peterson will make his preseason debut Sunday at San Francisco.

"When you sit back and watch two games and you see your guys, that second game you start itching for it," he said. "Well, I do. I know a lot of guys shy away from it. But I'm all about competing and getting better with my team."

If he had a choice, Peterson said he'd like to play an entire half Sunday, but he realizes that's probably not going to happen. The best guess is he plays two series.

"I look at it like the coaches look at it and ownership," Peterson said. "That's the picture you've got to look at. That's how the decison is going to be made. I understand that. I just go out there and accept whatever they put on my plate."

Peterson didn't play at all in the preseason last year and won MVP honors. He was asked what he needs to see in preseason action.

"I don't think it's necessarily that I need it," he said. "But it's just being out there as an offensive unit and not having any missing pieces. Whether it's a quarter or two quarters, it's just getting that time in live. There's no way to emulate that so that's the part that I like."

"I'm a vet now so I know how things go," he continued. "I'll be ready to roll either way when that opener comes around. I played a season with preseason games and I've played without. Either way, I'm not looking to get this [certain] amount of carries. It doesn't matter. I just want to get in and play a little bit. Just kind of knock the rust off a little bit."

Peterson looks ansty to play. He killed time during special teams portion of practice working with the defensive ends and linebackers on the blocking sled.

"I was messing with those guys," he said. "I was like, I can definitely see myself coming off the edge. I don't know too many tackles that could put their hands on me. Keep your eyes open for it."

He was joking, of course.