Vikings rule Adrian Peterson out for Week 17

In an expected move, the Minnesota Vikings have ruled Adrian Peterson out for Week 17.

The Minnesota Vikings collapsed from a 5-0 start to now clinging to the possibility of an 8-8 record heading into Week 17 against the Chicago Bears. Running back Adrian Peterson returned from knee surgery in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts, but he missed last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers with knee and groin issues and did not practice at all this week.

As expected, the Vikings have ruled Peterson out for Sunday’s regular season finale.

.@AdrianPeterson and @Asendejo have been ruled out for #CHIvsMIN.

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— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 30, 2016

Set to turn 32 in March, having missed significant chunks of two of the last three seasons and due $18 million in salary and bonuses in 2017, Peterson may have played his last game as a Viking. His last moment with the team may be a fumble at the end of his best run against the Colts, as part of a six-carry, 22-yard effort in a blowout loss.

The Vikings could retain Peterson next season at a reduced salary, but he surely still has an inflated value of himself and may not be open to that. Hitting the open market may fix that inflated self-worth, with teams not likely to line up to offer big money with a big role to a 32-year old running back that is clearly in decline. But that is predicated on the Vikings making an obvious decision to move on from Peterson if he doesn’t want to return on their terms, with better ways to use that salary cap room.

Peterson should have some suitors, if and when he’s available to other teams, based on name recognition alone. He has a keen eye on his legacy and standing among all-time greats, so Peterson is surely aware of where he sits among the NFL’s all-time leading rushers. With another 1,000 rushing yards in his career, Peterson can move from 16th (11,747 yards) all the way to ninth on the all-time list.

For better or worse, and he wouldn’t be the first athlete to hang on too long, Peterson is sure to want to play as long as it takes to become a top-10 rusher in NFL history.