Adrian Peterson has been back in Minnesota for the past three weeks. And while he may never regain the sense of normalcy he experienced before last year, Peterson feels his return to the Vikings and football went smoothly.
"I feel pretty good," he said today. "It's been good just to be out here with the fellas and get back in the swing of things and open my mind back to the playbook and what Coach Turner is asking us to do. It's been pleasant."
The Vikings wrapped their offseason workout program this afternoon, sending players giddily off to enjoy a few weeks of downtime. Despite being away from the Vikings for about eight months, Peterson said he returned to no surprises beyond a "couple of curveballs" with Norv Turner's offense.
He credited Turner and running backs coach Kirby Wilson for helping bring him up to speed with the playbook. As for any physical rust he could have potentially experienced, Peterson insisted he "felt good from Day One."
"I've had a long time to work out," he said. "There's nothing like coming out here playing football, so maybe like a day or so, after the first day I was a little sore — calves really. But after that, I could tell that I had really been working because I really didn't feel too much soreness after that."
As for life off the field here, Peterson said things aren't back to normal yet.
"No. It is what it is. It's normal but of course it's different," the 30-year-old running back said. "But I'm making it as normal as I can, you know. I'm surrounding myself with people who love me and I'm moving forward."
