When Vikings players yesterday morning arrived at the team's practice facility, coach Mike Zimmer "debriefed them" on the Adrian Peterson situation, "offered his opinion on the suspension and tried to get them to move on," according to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Some of the players "didn’t bother reading NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s explanation for suspending Peterson." Vikings DE Brian Robison said, “[Zimmer] gave us his opinions on it, which we’ll keep in the locker room and keep to ourselves." Vensel notes "publicly, Zimmer didn’t say much about Peterson." Some players "expressed surprise over the suspension, others anger." But many of them, "while lamenting the loss of Peterson, kept their opinions on Goodell’s ruling -- and the difficult and controversial circumstance that led to Peterson’s suspension -- to themselves." Vikings CB Josh Robinson said, "Now that they’ve made their decision, all we can do is move on" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/20). In St. Paul, Brian Murphy writes, "Ten weeks gone and the specter of Adrian Peterson lingers in the Vikings' locker room at Winter Park, nameplate still above his stall and No. 28 jerseys hanging untouched with the rest of his playing gear." But yesterday, there was a "sense of finality" as Peterson's teammates "answered another round of questions." Peterson has "plenty of allies among colleagues, who have advocated for his character." Murphy: "Perhaps no player was more affected by Peterson's sudden departure than the rookie fast-tracked to be his replacement" -- RB Jerick McKinnon. He said, "Adrian's a guy I look up to. I think different things about the whole situation. ... Honestly, I don't agree with it. There's nothing I can do about it." Murphy reports "none of the players interviewed said they read Goodell's 1,500-word statement." Robinson: "To tell you the truth, I (couldn't) care less about reading it" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/20).
