That was Vikings RB Adrian Peterson yesterday, sprinting (Associated Press)

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson tore his ACL on December 24, triggering the longest offseason of his life. He’s targeted Week 1 for his return, and he seems to be on track. That’s all come with work. “I’ve been in the lab,” Peterson told me, and that’s an apt description.

How is he doing? What he has been doing? Will he be ready?

All pertinent questions. At Vikings minicamp yesterday, I spoke with Peterson for a while, and here is the full interview.

Peterson has always worked. No surprise. Everyone knows that. But this offseason has made him work even more. He’s been humbled, and that’s changed his sense of urgency. He is just dying to be out there.

“It really just made me grind, just work even harder,” Peterson told me. “When you’re knocked down, you gotta start from scratch. I’ve learned it’s a different sense of urgency, just a different mentality. I’m going to say the past six weeks been probably the hardest I’ve worked in my life.”

Check out my story on NFL.com about Peterson’s battle to recovery.

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