Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson seems confident that he will be reinstated following his grievance hearing on Monday.
On Thursday, fellow Vikings running back Matt Asiata told Chris Tomasson of The Pioneer Press that he has been exchanging text messages with Peterson and that AP is anxious to return to the team.
“He can’t wait to play,” Asiata said. “He’s staying positive. He’s staying on the grind and just waiting for the call to come back. … He’s so competitive. He can’t wait to come back.”
Peterson was originally hoping to return for Minnesota’s game against the Chicago Bears after he reached a plea agreement last week and avoided jail time. If needed, he is reportedly open to filing a lawsuit against the NFL to get the league to reinstate him.
Asiata believes Peterson should be reinstated immediately.
“Being his friend and being close to him, I think so,” he said. “He’s a great person, and he’s obviously a great football player. … I just told him we miss him around the game, and we can’t wait to get him back.”
With an independent arbitrator overseeing Peterson’s hearing on Monday, my guess is the league will wind up reinstating him. He has already missed nine games and was never convicted of felony child abuse because of the plea bargain. Whether the Vikings still want him or not remains to be seen, but Asiata’s comments seem to indicate the team is expecting Peterson back.
