Mike Zimmer and Adrian Peterson comment on Peterson’s hold out:

Just when it looked like things in Minnesota might begin to get more contentious, it seems Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has come to terms with the fact that his future will be in Minnesota.

Yesterday, head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about Peterson’s absence from Vikings OTA’s, and his response was swift and to the point. If Peterson wanted to play football in 2015, he’d be playing for the Vikings.

“He’s really got two choices: He can either play for us. Or he cannot play. So, he’s not going to play for anybody else, and that’s just the way it’s going to be,” Zimmer told the assembled media at Vikings OTA’s.

While Zimmer made it clear that he didn’t know why Peterson wasn’t in attendance, and that he wasn’t concerned about what comments Peterson was or wasn’t making about the situation, the second-year Vikings head coach clearly drew a line in the sand and made the team’s position on the Peterson situation quite clear. That was until the back issued a surprising statement through ESPN’s Josina Anderson.

“The reason I’m not attending OTAs has nothing to do with wanting to be traded. It’s about securing my future with the Vikings. It’s business, not personal and I understand that firsthand. Go Vikings.”

Finishing his statement with the phrase, “Go Vikings” makes it clear that while Peterson is holding out for a new contract, he seems to understand that if he gets a new deal, that deal will be with the Vikings. While the relationship between Peterson and the Vikings is far from warm and fuzzy, the fact that Peterson now seems prepared to stay in Minnesota without trying to push his way out of town has to be good news for Vikings fans.

Houston Texans to appear on Hard Knocks:

The Houston Texans have confirmed they will be highlighted on HBO’s award winning, NFL training camp documentary, “Hard Knocks.”

While some question whether or not the added coverage and cameras can be a distraction for NFL clubs, the question should really be if HBO should be allowed to cover the league in that light at all, if there is any belief that were the case. While many NFL teams have shied away from HBO’s cameras, there’s little to no proof that the show has ever put a team at a competitive disadvantage, and Texans GM Rick Smith, clearly doesn’t believe it will be an issue for the Texans.

“We’ll function as we always do,” Smith said at a press conference announcing the team’s inclusion on the show.

For Smith it’s about trusting the process, and he made it clear he trusts HBO and the NFL implicitly that the team will be well represented.

For HBO, the Texans should provide an interesting plot. Of course there’s all-world, all-pro, all-everything, J.J. Watt, who it seems the NFL and NFL fans get can’t get enough of. While Watt hasn’t been shy around cameras during his time as an NFL superstar, it’s obvious that while he seems comfortable hamming it up for cameras away from the football field, the Texans defensive end is focused on football and only football when the bullets begin to fly.

As evidenced by his criticism of Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger for taking a pregame selfie before his first start against the Texans, while Watt loves fun and games, he considers football serious business. Expect to enjoy watching Watt practice like the animal that he is, but don’t expect a sideshow from the league’s reigning defensive player of the year.

The Texans also have interesting story lines on offense where Cecil Shorts joins a receiving corp. now led by DeAndre Hopkins after the departure of long-time Texans great, Andre Johnson.

Then of course, there’s the quarterback situation. The Texans, like the St. Louis Rams in the NFC, are good quarterback play away from being Super Bowl contenders. They’re that talented. However, like St. Louis, Houston is still trying to figure out if they’ve got the guy who can provide that kind of play from under center.

Hard Knocks will get a good look at the competition between Ryan Mallett, who returns to the Texans after a season where injuries took his opportunity to prove he should be the guy in Houston, and Brian Hoyer who signed with the team after a roller coaster year in Cleveland a season ago.

Brandon Marshall relishing new opportunity with Jets:

On paper, It’s hard to find anyone who had a better offseason than new New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan. From the hiring of Todd Bowles, to flipping the Jets secondary from being one of the worst in football to one of the best, it seems Maccagnan hit every nail on the head while trying to rebuild the Jets.

One of Maccagnan’s first, and possibly best moves was trading a 5^th-round draft pick for Brandon Marshall who immediately becomes one of the Jets best offensive weapons, and the team’s top wide out. While Marshall didn’t feel he needed a change of scenery, he’s clearly excited about what the season ahead could hold for him in New York.

“Well, I didn’t need a fresh start, so it’s another opportunity to chase a dream and to win,” Marshall said when asked about getting a fresh start with the Jets. “I’m excited about it. Obviously, we have some great guys on defense and they’ve had a lot of success as a unit, so it creates that extra edge for us when we approach practice because we’re trying to meet them every day, meet them where they’re at and they’re on the verge of being really good and maintaining that level and right now, we’re trying to figure out who we are as an offense and to go against Darrelle Revis and (Sheldon) Richardson, and (Calvin) Pace every single day is good for all of us.”

For the Jets, Marshall gives them the opportunity to have a weapon like they haven’t seen in the passing game in recent years, but for Marshall the challenge of working against guys like Revis and Antonio Cromartie gives him the opportunity to continue to grow as a player and it makes him excited to go to work every day. Marshall may not be as athletic as he was in his younger years, but it’s clear the receiver is continuing to work on his game, and lining up against the best in practice will only help him on game day.

Marshall sees the opportunity in front of him, and he’s enjoying every second of finding his place in this new Jets offense, as he alluded to when being asked if it’s fun to line up against guys like Revis and Cromartie at practice.

“So fun, so fun,” replied Marshall. “I really feel like I’m better now than I’ve ever been. There’s the physical part, feeling healthy, and our medical staff here is probably the best in the league. I don’t know if you guys know this, but they have all the gurus in the world here, they’re flying guys in. So, I feel great and now I’m starting to see the game differently, being older and having a lot of experience, so having all of that working for me and going against those guys every single day, I’m excited about doing my job this year.”

There’s a strong chance the Jets could be among the most improved teams, if not the most improved team in football this season, and Marshall can already see the competitive environment his new head coach is putting in place.

“The thing I like most about what we’re doing is the competitive periods,” said Marshall.  “A lot of coaches now-a-days are doing the ones-on-ones and that’s all great so you can get great work, but the way Coach Bowles implemented our competition period is basically like, “Hey, if you lose, there are some consequences,” so it really created a great environment for everyone to compete and get better and it feels like it’s a game almost and that’s hard to accomplish in OTAs and in the offseason.”

For some, Marshall can be as frustrating as he is talented as he’s struggled at times to keep his emotions in check. If he can continue down a positive path with the Jets, it might just be their opponent’s defensive coordinators who end up frustrated in 2015.