Frazier: "Very good chance" that Toby Gerhart will carry the load early on

With RB Adrian Peterson’s health still an uncertainty, it’s a distinct possibility Toby Gerhart will be the Vikings’ opening day starter on Sept. 9. In the four games Peterson missed due to injury in 2011, Gerhart averaged 18 carries and 73 rushing yards per contest.

As for Gerhart’s increased bulk, the Vikings are doing a bit of offseason experimenting to determine how he can be most effective.

“He’s still a developing guy,” HC Leslie Frazier said. “And there are some things we’re going to find out in these OTAs. Before we send him home and come back to training camp, we’ll give him a prescribed weight. But we wanted to take a look at him at where he is right now and just see how it would affect his quickness. Because there’s a very good chance he’s going to have to really carry the load early on.”

We are currently lower (#15) on Peterson than most and that's because he's trying to do something unprecedented -- completely return to form nine months after tearing his ACL. Despite his progress, he could still land on PUP, which would knock him out for the first six weeks. Owners need to exercise caution when going down this road.