Adrian Peterson is a workout warrior who seems to remind us each year he can play well into his 30s. For a running back, stiff-arming Father Time becomes a yearly battle after crossing that 30-year-old mark.
Peterson believes he'll lose the mental aspect before physical deterioration from age comes into play.
"That's it," Peterson told ESPN. "Training camp, going through the grind, OTAs and all that -- that will definitely be the deciding factor. Physically, body-wise, I'll be good. It's just mentally -- like with OTAs, I'm out there practicing, I'm going, I'm putting in work. But it's so repetitive that it's more suited toward the young guys and getting them into the system. It gets kind of boring."
Peterson noted that when he returned from an ACL injury in 2012, he didn't have to go through the offseason grind. He rushed for 2,097 yards that season.
"Think about this: The 2012 season (after recovering from ACL surgery), I didn't do any training camp," he said. "But I was over there on the side, working out. You get that extra month of working out? Come on, man. I would much rather not participate in training camp and work out, just to have more of an edge. Training camp, you're going out there, you're playing football, you're going to lift, and after that, you don't want to do anything. You're tired, from meetings and all that."
Given his age and position, it wouldn't be the worst thing for the Vikings to let Peterson skip most of offseason activities and training camp, especially as long as the current offensive staff stays in place.
Peterson needs 6,681 yards to break Emmitt Smith's all-time rushing record and has said endless amount of times he plans to do just that. Let's hope he doesn't mentally break down first.
