Before Mike Zimmer and the rest of the Vikings staff went on vacation, the coach was asked for his impressions of how Adrian Peterson appeared to him in the few practices the 2012 NFL MVP took part with his teammates this offseason.
"He looks great. He made a great cut the other day in practice and I went over to him and said, '[Running backs] coach [Kirby] Wilson has taught you well on that cut you made,' " Zimmer said. "It was an amazing cut and he does it every day, some of these things he does. He's catching the ball well out of the backfield and we are excited to have him."
Zimmer expects Peterson's presence after missing almost all of last season to make a lot of difference in the passing game.
"Hopefully it makes a lot," Zimmer said. "We have some weapons outside and hopefully makes our offensive line better, as well. I do think that's going to be a big key to our football team."
Peterson's much-anticipated return to Vikings practice came June 4 during OTAs. It came after he missed the final 15 games of the 2014 season and served an NFL suspension stemming from his legal troubles for a child abuse case.
Zimmer was asked his impression of how the team reacted to Peterson's return.
"I think the first day when Adrian came back, everybody was trying to keep an eye on him, watch him run and do the things he did," Zimmer said. "As practice went on, everything became more normal. They've all seen some of the things he can do in practice and we all say, 'Wow,' but it's pretty much back to normal now."
Offensive line improvement
The offensive line didn't have an impressive season a year ago, and one of the reasons was that left tackle Matt Kalil wasn't at his best after having knee surgery in May 2014.