EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a torn meniscus in his right knee, coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.
The Vikings are still evaluating the injury and have not yet determined how much time he will miss. Zimmer initially announced the nature of the injury while recording his weekly appearance on a local radio show and told KFXN-FM that he has not yet ruled out Peterson for the game on Sunday against Carolina.
Peterson was meeting with team doctors and athletic trainers to discuss his options, which include surgery to address the injury.
"We are going through the evaluation process to figure out what the next procedure will be," Zimmer told reporters during his weekly news conference. "We are still going through all the options."
Peterson, the 2012 NFL MVP, was injured in the third quarter of Minnesota's 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night on a 5-yard run , his longest of the night. He needed crutches to exit U.S. Bank Stadium, but it does appear Peterson will be able to return at some point this season after initial fears that he tore his ACL.
Peterson has long had a reputation as a fast healer, which was never more clear than when he tore the ACL in his left knee with two weeks to play in the 2011 season and still made it back to start the 2012 season. A torn meniscus is considered much less serious than a torn ACL, but it still often calls for several weeks of rehab before a player is ready to take the field again.
"Anytime you have a guy like that in a leadership role that does go down, obviously everyone kind of takes a step back," defensive captain Brian Robison said. "You never want to see guys go down like that. But at the end of the day you understand that there is still a task at hand. This is the NFL and that's going to happen."
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The Vikings (2-0) have three more games before their bye week.
Peterson has rushed for just 50 yards on 31 carries in the first two weeks.
"We're going to keep plugging away and keep doing our best to find a way to win," Zimmer said.
Panthers: Stewart out at least two weeks
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While Panthers coach Ron Rivera is awaiting the results of an MRI on running back Jonathan Stewart's right hamstring, Fozzy Whittaker is set to start for Carolina.
Rivera said the initial indications on Stewart are not good.
"If it's a hamstring - and every indication is that it is - it's going to be at least a week or two," Rivera said. "We'll see how severe."
Whittaker, who ran for 100 yards on 16 carries in the win, will start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Rivera said the team will activate Cameron Artis-Payne as a backup. He has been inactive the last two games for Carolina (1-1).
Prior to Sunday, Whittaker's career-high was 41 yards rushing back, that coming back in 2014 against the Atlanta Falcons (see full story).
Browns: McCown out with shoulder injury
CLEVELAND — Josh McCown will miss at least one game with an injured left shoulder, forcing the Browns to start their third quarterback in three games.
McCown stayed in Sunday's loss to Baltimore despite getting hurt in the first quarter and taking several hard shots. The 37-year-old was filling in for Robert Griffin III, who broke a bone in his left shoulder in the season opener and will miss at least eight games.
The injuries will force the Browns to play rookie Cody Kessler this week at Miami. He will be the 26th quarterback to start for Cleveland since 1999.
Jets: Marshall hopes to play Sunday
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall says his injured left knee is feeling better, and he hopes to play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Marshall's knee twisted awkwardly under him after a catch last Thursday at Buffalo and he left the game briefly before returning. He says Monday that the knee feels "stable" and he is no longer walking with a limp.
Coach Todd Bowles was uncertain if Marshall will be able to play, saying that the team's first official injury report of the week comes out Wednesday. Bowles did deny a report that Marshall has an injured medial collateral ligament, but wouldn't clarify the nature of the injury.
Marshall did not practice Monday, as expected, but added that he shouldn't ever be counted out from playing until Sunday.
Seahawks: Pete Carroll and team fined
NEW YORK — Seattle coach Pete Carroll has been fined $200,000, the Seahawks have been fined $400,000 and will lose a fifth-round draft choice for violating the NFL's work rules on contact in the offseason.
The Seahawks will forfeit the draft pick in 2017 and also lose a week of organized team activities for allowing excessive contact in an OTA on June 6. That is prohibited by the labor agreement with the players' union.
The decision was made after the league and the NFL Players Association independently reviewed the on-field practice video for June 6. Both sides agreed the Seahawks violated the no live contact rules.
This is the second time the Seahawks have been penalized by the league for violating offseason workout protocols. Seattle had two minicamp practices taken away in June 2015 for contact rules violations during the 2014 offseason. Seattle's players were allowed to attend meetings, but were limited to just one day of on-field work.