Saints running back Adrian Peterson, discussing with the Twin Cities media his return to face the Vikings, told reporters how he pushed last season to return from a torn meniscus in his right knee that he chose to have fully repaired as opposed to removed, which might have shortened his recovery time.

"Last year I tore 90 percent of my meniscus. All the advice I was getting was, 'If you cut this out, you'll be bone on bone. If you have surgery to repair it, there's a 50 percent chance for the meniscus to heal,' " Peterson said.

"I got the surgery and was told a six-to-eight-month recovery. So the talks from within everyone from the team was, 'Well, you can start the rehab and get ready to come back for OTAs, minicamp depending on the healing process.' That's what they were telling me."

He added: "I was like no, I believe in a higher power and I want to get out there and help my team win. I'm going to get the meniscus repaired and I'm going to call up the people I know, whether it's the blood flow restriction therapy or hyperbaric chamber or stem cells that I was able to get done or the ozone therapy I did. This all came out of my pocket. I was doing this every week, spending $10,000 a week to get back out there in the hope of us making it to the playoffs.

"I didn't sit back and say I'm just going to collect a check. I was fighting, 'Hey, no, put me on the injured reserve list to return.' You know?"

Peterson, 32, said he and the Vikings never discussed a new contract after the team declined his $18 million option. After his final exit interview with the Vikings after the 2016 season, Peterson said he didn't hear from the team until it signed Latavius Murray in free agency.

"And I was OK with that," Peterson said. "It was a situation where we both kind of knew where we were. The season didn't end the way we wanted it to end. Things didn't happen the way they wanted it to happen Week 15 and 16. A lot of people were on edge. No, it was no ego blow for me."