EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Just one more week remains in a lost season for the Minnesota Vikings, so Adrian Peterson's week of work might not find the same amount of scrutiny.
Peterson said he's feeling better and practiced Thursday, but won't know his status for Sunday's season-finale at the Metrodome against the Detroit Lions until later in the week. Minnesota (4-10-1) will be playing the final game in the Metrodome's 31-year history.
"I'm going to go out today and I'll be able to test it out, I'll be able to assess where I'm at and how I feel," Peterson said earlier Thursday. "With a couple of more days of rest in front of me I'll be able to distinguish if I'll be able to go out there be productive. Stay tuned. Right now my mindset is to be out there and finish strong with my teammates."
Peterson has been dealing with a sprained foot suffered on Dec. 8, but said the lingering groin injury he's played with for more than a month caused the biggest issue in last week's game. Peterson had 11 carries for 45 yards in last week's loss at Cincinnati but didn't play after taking one carry on the first offensive play of the second half.
Facing a big deficit in an eventual 42-14 loss, coaches decided to sit Peterson out the rest of the game to rest his injuries. He played 26 of the 49 offensive snaps on Sunday.
"The groin I would say more so than the foot," Peterson said of the injuries. "The foot was a pain that I already had set in my mind that I was going to have to deal with. Sometimes when I was pushing off, I felt it. I got tackled a couple of times and twisted up and pain kind of stuck around for a minute. But that's something I knew I was going to have to deal with.
"As far as explosion, that kind of hindered me a little bit, the groin as well. So, I felt uncomfortable Sunday."
Peterson didn't participate when the team held a Tuesday practice before taking Wednesday off.
"I'm feeling OK," Peterson said Thursday. "I've felt better. My body has been able to rest a little bit. I'm trying to push to Sunday."
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