Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson Overcoming Adversity For 2012 Season

Last season, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL during a Week 16 matchup against the Washington Redskins–putting his status for the beginning of the 2012 season in jeopardy considering how long it usually takes for an athlete to recover from this type of injury. However, with the start of training camp about one month away, Peterson appears to have overcome the injury and appears ready to return to his old dominant self for the 2012 season.

After a disappointing 3-13 finish last year, the Vikings will heavily rely on Peterson to carry the load on offense as the former Oklahoma standout enters his sixth season in the NFL looking to remain near the top of the list when it comes to best running backs in the league. In five seasons, Peterson has already rushed for 6,752 yards and 64 touchdowns–which is impressive for a running back that has appeared in just 73 games.

Peterson has overcome adversity to make sure he can help his team bounce back in 2012 and all signs point to him having another monster year in Minnesota assuming he can remain healthy enough and not miss any action off the field. Throughout his career, Peterson has always proven to be one of the toughest and hardest working running backs in the NFL and the fact that he is recovered from this type of injury as fast as he has shows what type of athlete he really is.

Most doctors and trainers would advise players to avoid training just five months after a surgery this big, but Peterson proved at the end of May that he’s capable of handling the workload after photos hit the web of him training with teammate Percy Harvin by sprinting up hills during a workout. In fact, most doctors and trainers would most likely advise players to stay away from running just two months after having this type of surgery–but that didn’t stop Peterson from doing so.

There’s a reason why Peterson has always been considered one of the top running backs in the NFL and the fact that he’s managed to overcome an injury as serious as a torn ACL in this short period of time supports his case even more. It’s hard to believe about six months ago football fans were questioning whether or not they would even see Peterson play during the 2012 season and now–all they can think about is what type of numbers he’s going to display once September rolls around.

Dan Parzych is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com

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