Vikings Running Back 
Adrian Peterson
I’d like to say it’s good to see you guys, it’s been a minute. Good to see you guys and finally get an opportunity to talk to you guys for a little bit. I’d like to say thanks to the fans for just the outpouring of support that I’ve been receiving, some fan mail, some tweets. Just so many different sources and I just want to tell you guys I really appreciate it. I am working hard to get back as soon as possible.
Eric Sugarman
I’m going to give you a quick update of where we are, what’s happened since the last time that we visited. He’s two weeks today from surgery so that’s kind of the number one landmark that we were waiting to hit and I’m sure Adrian was anxious to hit it as well because it’s not an easy step to get to this first two-week mark. Basically, today is a big day because number one, he’s off the crutches at two weeks. We took his sutures out today. We look for little victories along the way here on this journey so those are a couple of victories that we had today. What have we done the last two weeks? The first week really was kind of treating his pain and he would probably agree, the worst part of the whole situation, the first week with the pain that he was in and that’s normal and then you have to also work on his range of motion. From his range of motion, you want to make sure that his quadriceps muscle is working because it tends to, as you can see, my quadriceps is bigger than his right now in that leg. It just goes away and that’s the way our bodies work. You have to be able to re-educate the muscle and we do that through a whole lot of different means to get that muscle to fire again and he’s doing awesome now with that. Other things that we worked on the last two weeks are getting what we call proprioception or getting his balance, his awareness in space, getting him to be able to confidently ambulate or walk without crutches, and that’s not something we take for granted every day, but for someone that had an ACL reconstructed and an MCL repaired, that’s not too easy to do as he would admit. The first week or so he didn’t even want to put his foot on the ground at all, and that’s understandable, and now you saw him walking here without crutches and doing great. I’ll say that the last three days have been really awesome and I think he’ll admit that. He’s been riding the stationary bike. He has great motion in his knee with extension and flexion. His quadriceps fires really well and just doing everything that we would expect, and then some, at this point. As I said before, we’re not in a race and we’re not going to rush him. We’re not trying to jump to all of the different phases. We’re following the protocol that’s prescribed for him, and for everyone that’s had an ACL tear, and we’re just going to continue to progress along at the pace that we know is safe for him. The last thing, before questions, is just to let you know that the ACL, the graft that they put in, they take the middle third of his patellar tendon and two bone plugs, one from each end and then they make a tunnel and put that graft in the middle of his knee. Around the two to three month mark, that is weak. It actually gets weaker from this point forward for a little while because the actual graft or the tendon they put in there gets necrotic or dies and then it goes through a period of time where it kind of circles collagen around and it gets stronger and then once we get to the 10 to 12 week mark, it becomes pretty stable and pretty strong. Then you’re out of that kind of scary zone. I’m just talking in regards to rehab. His surgery was certainly a success and everything is fine but that’s the one thing you have to be really cautious with for the first couple of months. He can’t push it too hard because you could put him at risk and he knows that, we all know that, and that’s why the protocol is set up the way it is. I’m good for you to ask him all of the questions you want.
Q: What has it been like mentally going through this?
A (Peterson): At the beginning it was tough mentally, just accepting it for what it was and then I was sitting on it for a week basically before having the surgery. I had time to ask myself, ‘Why this? Or ‘Why that?’ Ultimately, I was able to look at it for what it was, put that behind me, and just get my mind right for this challenge that was ahead of me.
Q: How long did it take you to accept what had happened?
A: (Peterson) Pretty quickly I was able to accept it. But, then again, I’m human so you sit there and you still ask questions but it wasn’t something that I was just dwelling on, just really stressing myself out and having myself down about it as much but after the surgery, getting back in the building, it was tough. It was painful. Like Sugarman said, I didn’t want anyone touching it or try to put it on the ground or anything like that. I feel like the first week was the toughest part for me. Not being able to sleep, waking up every two hours, just dealing with the pain and the frustration, looking ahead like, ‘Wow, I’ve got a long way just to move around and walk,’ but after that first week, I felt like things really started to calm down. The pain started to subside and I was able to just get more motivated about the process.
Q: When these things happen we’ve heard you always have to wait for the swelling to go down to have surgery. This one was performed quickly wasn’t it?
A: (Sugarman) Yeah and it wasn’t to save time in the rehab. Basically, we treat everyone the same as far as that goes and what you’re looking for is to get the swelling to go down. It’s never going to go away because of what happened inside the joint but more importantly, you look for their motion. You want the player or the person, if you’re not an athlete, they want the person to have pretty much over 90 degrees of flexion and full extension and once they have that, they’re a candidate for surgery and he just was able to do that. Again, just another example of him getting better faster than other people. He hit that mark and so we decided to move forward with the surgery. There’s no reason to wait just to wait and we’ve had guys do it sooner.
Q: How important is it that he’s here with you?
A: (Sugarman) I’m a little biased to that question. I think it’s great that he’s here and we’ve had a great two weeks so far. It’s just the very beginning of a journey and of course I think that I could do a pretty good job of getting him ready. Again, I’m biased to the question but yeah, it’s important.
Q: Do you have a plan of how much you’re going to do here and how much you’re going to do back home?
A: (Peterson) I do have a plan laid out and we haven’t discussed that in detail. I feel like it’s going to be pretty good. It’s going to work out and we’re going to be able to do this together in the best way.
Q: How much of it are you going to spend here?
A: (Peterson) I don’t know. It’s something we’re going to discuss more in detail but I have confidence in the guys that are surrounding me now, Sugarman and his staff. The first two weeks, just having those guys around, me, Sugarman, and the guys in there, some familiar faces and God just encouraging me and pushing me. It just really helped me a lot. I know these guys are going to continue to do a good job throughout this process for me.
Q: Have you put blaming anybody behind you?
A: (Peterson) Oh yeah. I put that behind me pretty quick. Like I said, I had thoughts that went through my head and that’s just normal human instincts. But, initially right after the game I kind of put the blame, I asked myself why. I remember when Sugarman was coming on the field, I was like, ‘Why me, why me?’ But quickly I was able to remove myself from that and just accept it for what it was. It wasn’t going to change the situation and definitely wasn’t going to help so I was able to kind of put that behind me quick.
Q: What’s the challenge for you in understanding the timetable of this so you don’t try to rush stages of this?
A: (Peterson) The Vikings organization, Sugarman and his staff, they have my best interests at hand and I’m not really stressing about anything. My personal goal is to be back for the first game of the season. We have this game plan that’s laid out and just making sure that I’m executing it is going to help me accomplish that goal.
Q: You’re a really competitive person and want to push it. Is that when you have to listen and pay attention to what they’re saying?
A: (Peterson) Yeah, that’s going to be very important for me. As Sugarman knows, it’s been two weeks and I’ve already been on the edge, trying to push it a little more but I know around the two to three month mark, it’s going to be feeling good but that’s when it’s at its weakest, the ACL, so I am just going to have to be smart, listen to these guys, and take it slow during that time.
Q: Does getting back and playing at the level you want to play at what you’re concerned about the most?
A: (Peterson): Not at all. I’ve not thought about that once. I’ve been through a lot in my life and I call out to a higher power and I put my faith in Him and I know that anything I put my mind to, I will be able to accomplish. I feel like I am going to come back better than before and I know that people might laugh at that or think otherwise but you know what? It doesn’t matter what they think or how they feel about it. The only thing that matters is how I feel about it and what I believe and being able to just go through the sacrifices and whatever it takes to get to that and I’ve already started that.
Q: Why the patella graft as compared to a different kind of graft?
A: (Sugarman): It’s the gold standard and it just made sense.
Q: Have you talked to anyone else that has had the same surgery or had any conversations with other athletes who have went through this process?
A: (Peterson): Yeah, I had a couple guys on the team that have been encouraging. (Chad) Greenway, a couple guys that went through the surgery, Heath Farwell, some of my other teammates from college, a couple of guys that I know and those guys that have been telling me, ‘Hey, it’s going to be tough. You’re not going to feel like an athlete for a long time.’ But mentally, the one thing I’ve really grabbed and put in my mind from those conversations is mentally, that’s going to be a tougher challenge because over this period of time, you’re going to gradually get the strength back and the flexibility and you’ll be able to start to move around like you used to. This, mentally, is going to be tough and I’ve experienced that and I’m two weeks in but I feel like I’m mentally strong. I was built that way and I feel like I’ll be alright.
Q: How much of a toll has losing 23 games in 2 years taken on you?
A: (Peterson) It’s tough. It is, man. On top of that, to be in this situation made it even tougher. But hey, you know, the past is the past. That’s what it is. So, I’m looking forward to getting back on the field with my teammates and starting this thing off the right way.
Q: Have you watched the play where the injury occurred?
A: (Peterson) Oh yeah. Yeah, my stomach just crawls just looking at it. Your leg is not supposed to go that way at all. But I knew it right off the top when I got hit that it was something devastating. And just watching the play put the cherry on top. But hey, it is what it is.
Q: There’s not much you can do if your foot’s planted like that, but do you wonder if you had done something differently things would be different?
A: (Peterson) Yeah. Trust me, I went through that. Like, dang, what if I would have kept it front side, or what if I would have done some ropes during the week maybe I would have been able to get my foot up faster when I made that cut, you know. But, it happened and I was just like, what are the odds, what are really the odds of that happening? That right when I plant the guy comes in. What are the odds? But it happened, it was a fluke. So, I just have to put that behind me and not let that hinder me at all throughout this process.
Q: You’re the type of runner that doesn’t plant much too?
A: (Peterson) Well, I plant a lot. It was just funny that right when I was cutting, he was falling. So it was like, bam, when I planted. It was meant to happen because it happened, you know.
Q: Have you heard at all from the guy who hit you?
A: (Peterson) No, I haven’t heard from him.
Q: What are the important time periods that Adrian should be here versus when you’re okay with him being in Houston?
A: (Sugarman) We really break it down into five phases of rehab. We just finished phase 1, which is the first two weeks. Phase 2 will be the next two weeks. It’s really more of the same. He’ll do better in the next two weeks because his pain is really down now. He’s got great motion. And now what you’re trying to do in the next two weeks is restore all of his range of motion and get his quad to work even better. But the big thing at the end of the next two weeks is now he gets to lose his brace that he’s wearing. So, then after four weeks, you enter phase 3 of the rehab. That lasts really till about between 10 and 12 weeks. Which is what I said when the ligament becomes safe. And then at that point, you’re in phase 4 and you start jogging; straight ahead stuff, on land, real easy. He’ll be doing that here in the Hydroworx pool as early as next week, because when you’re in the water, you’re pretty much weightless. And then you get into phase 5, which is usually about the 4 month mark, which is when you don’t have many restrictions at all as far as what you can and can’t do safely. But then of course, it just takes several months to get all of your strength back, get your function back, get your agility back and all that power and burst you see him do on the field. We’d like to see him for all of those phases, and we will at some point. So, again, we kind of have a calendar mapped out and a plan in place and we’re all comfortable with it.
Q: Will you maybe get a condo in Houston?
A: (Sugarman) He’s already offered me a bedroom in the house and said don’t book a room when you come visit. I probably will go visit him a couple times.
Q: With the proprioception that you talked about, can that be controlled with rehab?
A: (Sugarman) It is controlled. We do a ton of proprioceptive exercises. They’re something as easy as standing on a balance pad and picking your good leg up and standing on your other leg. You’d be amazed at how hard it is for him just to do that right now. A mini tramp, we do something we call a cup drill; he’s not up to that phase yet. There are tons of proprioceptive exercises. Believe it or not, even the Wii Fit is a really cool thing because it challenges you and is really good for balance. So, he hasn’t been on that yet. There are a ton of things we do to train for that, and that’s for all injuries.
Q: You’ve been through a lot of these processes with a lot of these guys, what’s the key for you to get them through this process physically and mentally?
A: (Sugarman) That’s in phases also. The first part’s on the field or in the training room when it happens because they’re devastated, as he was. He knew, when I got out there I put my face down by his ear, he immediately knew that he pretty much tore his ACL and it was confirmed quickly on the field, we knew it as well. You can tell, usually, by the test. And once you get through that phase you get to the surgery, and like I said, the first week to two weeks is just miserable for these guys. You just have to get them through that and let them see some progress like he had this week where he could get on a bike and he could bend his leg and his pain level’s down. And now it’s just a matter of, no one’s going to question his work ethic. And I know I said that in my other press conference, no one’s going to work harder than this guy. So, the hardest part for me, and I say this because we’re on record, is going to be keeping him in check. He’s got to follow the protocol and not try to do too much, not be influenced by other people and just do it. He’ll do fine.
Q: In the initial press conference you said 8-9 months recovery, what are your expectations for him once training camp opens up?
A: (Sugarman) We’ve only had one guy who got injured a couple weeks after him.
Q: What do the Vikings need to do to get better?
A: (Peterson) I don’t know. I feel like there are a couple areas where we need some improvement in. I’m sure that’s obvious to everyone sitting here. I feel like the guys that we have upstairs will do a great job of filling those voids and bring in the right guys to help contribute to this team. I’m going to leave that to them, that’s their job. I’m going to be excited to see the guys they bring in help us win a championship.
Q: What were some of your feelings at the lowest point?
A (Peterson): Just being stressed and questioning yourself, ‘Why me?’ Just really feeling bad for yourself and there were so many things going through my head, just feeling down. Some of the things I don’t even want to say. But, I’ve got a lot of people around me, a good supporting cast and just my family, my loved ones, even the fans, just being able to go on my phone and look at tweets and guys just telling me, ‘Hey, I wish I could give you my knee’ or ‘You can come rehab with me.’ If you need anything, that kind of builds you back up and it was easy for me to kind of snap out of it and refocus and know that ‘Hey, you’re going to be alright. There are things you have been through that are worse than this and you’ve gotten through it.’ Just knowing that the good Lord won’t give you more than you can handle. That’s how I’m looking at the situation as I’m going through it.
Q: You had that picture from New Year’s you tweeted. Was that to show people that you’re still trying to be positive?
A: (Peterson) Yeah, I had Blue Bell Country ice cream. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was fun to have my family around, we had the little hats, little horns, have the remote in my hand and I threw my stepdad a phone and I said, ‘Hey, take a picture. I’ve got to let my fans know that I’m doing good and I’m bringing New Year’s in the right way.’ It was fun.
