Hartman: Peterson still might return to Vikings this season

Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, who held a news conference Wednesday placing star running back Adrian Peterson on the Exempt/Commissioner's Permission list, taking him off the team but still paying him his $13 million salary, have not ruled out that Peterson will play again this year.

However, the Texas courts ultimately will decide when Peterson will be eligible to return to the lineup because the Wilfs are intent on letting the judicial process play out before Peterson returns.

There still is a possibility that Rusty Hardin, Peterson's attorney, will try to work out a plea deal to avoid a jury trial. That also would speed up the judicial process and possibly get Peterson back on the field sooner.

Peterson is set to appear in court for his arraignment Oct. 8, which will be the first major step in this legal process. So Peterson is sure to miss three games, even if a plea bargain is arranged at that time.

Mark Wilf was asked if Peterson's return is now essentially in the hands of the legal process.

"That's correct. We're not going to get into any hypotheticals," Wilf said. "We've made this decision that he is going to go on that list until his legal proceedings are concluded."

So it's in the hands of him and his attorney to get it straightened out?

"That's correct," said Wilf, who wouldn't say for certain how a return to the team would play out once Peterson's legal status is clearer.

Did Wilf have any idea how long Peterson would be out?

"I really can't tell you," he said. "That's for Adrian, his attorneys, his representatives and the judicial system to sort out. That's not for us to say or speculate."

Wilf was asked what kind of effect Peterson's absence would have on his club.

"On the football field he's a tremendous player, and there will be an impact," he said. "But it's a team game, and it's the next man up. We have great confidence in coach [Mike] Zimmer and our coaching staff and our players to step up. Ultimately our decision was about doing the right thing. That was paramount."

Wilf added that he received no additional pressure from the NFL or any league executives despite several of the sports shows claiming that the NFL office forced the benching of Peterson.

"This was our own decision," he said. "It's a decision that my brother, myself, our ownership, our management thought long and hard on. It's a fluid process, but in the end we wanted to get this thing right, and I think we did at the end."

Another big aspect of this was the very aggressive response of NFL and team sponsors to the reinstatement of Peterson to the team Monday.

Did that play into Wilf's decision?

"Obviously our sponsors, our community and our fans are important to us," he said. "Many people spoke up, but the most important thing at the end of the day was getting it right."

Wilf said this wasn't just about the Vikings.

"There were a lot of issues here that affect society, very serious issues, and there are a lot of opinions on it," Wilf said.

"What we're focused on in our role here is we're stewards of a great franchise and we have to do what's right for the Minnesota Vikings and what's right as far as our reputation as owners and individuals. We feel we've done that."

Did Wilf have any contact with Peterson?

"We have had conversations with Adrian and we're supportive of Adrian as he goes through this personal process," he said.

While this is a disciplinary action, Wilf also hopes that this ultimately helps Peterson and his family.

"Hopefully that he works with his representatives and through the judicial system to not just get it right but also to grow and get his personal situation in order," Wilf said.

While all eyes were focused on the Peterson situation, Zimmer was still in the process of working on a game plan this week to try to win in New Orleans, something the Vikings haven't done since 2008. The Vikings are 10-point underdogs.

"We're going to have to play differently this week," Zimmer said. "We're going to have to get around the quarterback. They're going to make a conscious effort to throw the football, and we're going to have to cover better and not have penalties."

While the Saints have started 0-2, both losses have been on the road, both on late field goals, and they will be a different and desperate team at home Sunday.

"I know they're a good football team, and it will be tough playing them at home," Zimmer said. "We'll have to do a good job keeping the football and not giving it away like we did last week. We'll have to make sure we continue to play well in the red zone."

Meanwhile, what will the backfield look like without Peterson?

"Probably Matt Asiata will start, but we plan on getting Joe Banyard in there some and Jerick McKinnon in there some," he said. "We may not have Adrian, but we'll have three guys.

"They'll do a good job. They're very conscientious guys. They'll try real hard. We want to be the best team on Sunday, not really about the best individuals."

• Looking back to last Sunday's 30-7 loss to the Patriots, New England defensive back Devin McCourty was asked how the Vikings changed without Peterson.

"He's one of the best running backs in the game, it changed a lot," he said. "I obviously can't speak on how they run their offense, but whenever a guy is a huge part of their offense like that it's going to change. They have other backs, but he's good for a reason. It definitely changed their dynamic."

The Vikings, who averaged 130 rushing yards per game last year, gained just 54 yards Sunday, averaging 2.8 yards per carry on 19 attempts.

• People close to the Patriots thought the fact that they were familiar with Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel was a part of the reason for his four interceptions in the loss, but Cassel said he didn't think so.

"You have to take into account the personnel and everything else going on, because obviously when I was there I was a different player than what I am today," he said.

• BWBR and RDG have been awarded the job of designing the new Gopher Academic Building, with groundbreaking expected to be a year from this fall.

• There are at least a couple of reasons for being optimistic about the Twins next season. After Wednesday night's 8-4 victory over Detroit, Kennys Vargas is hitting .326 [30-for-92] at Target Field in his career, he went 3-for-4 on Tuesday night with his first triple and his eighth home run. … Meanwhile, Danny Santana went 3-for-5 Wednesday and has a hit in 16 consecutive games at Target Field.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on 830-AM at 7:40, 8:40 and 9:20 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

shartman@startribune.com