Adrian Peterson is gone until November (at the earliest).
The Vikings placed their franchise star on injured reserve Friday, according to an announcement made by the team. Peterson suffered a torn meniscus in a Sunday night victory over the Packers last week. He underwent surgery on Thursday.
Should Peterson be able to make a recovery, he would be the Vikings' most obvious candidate for IR-designated to return. Under the new rule, teams do not have to designate which of their IR players are coming back up front. At the earliest, Peterson would be allowed to play again on Nov. 20 in a game against the Cardinals, though it is widely believed that he will miss at least another few weeks after that.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said there was a chance Peterson would be available for a playoff run. Through two weeks, the All-Pro had 50 rushing yards on 31 carries -- a clear victim of opposing defenses trying to shut him down in the absence of Teddy Bridgewater.
At the moment, the Vikings are humming along even without their franchise quarterback and running back. A former first-round pick, Sharrif Floyd, also underwent knee surgery on Friday. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, he'll miss about a month and a half.
Until the wheels completely fall off, this Vikings team doesn't seem interested in slowing down. They face off against the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers this Sunday.
Thanks to Mike Zimmer, a win isn't completely out of the question. Our resident prediction guru Marc Sessler picked the Vikingsthis week for Around The NFL's *Bold Predictions* feature. On paper, it would be quite an accomplishment, but Zimmer isn't letting the Vikings expect anything less than a win.
