MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- Adrian Peterson was all smiles during his first day of training camp with the Minnesota Vikings.
Peterson reported to camp on Monday after a three-day holdout ended with him signing a five-year, $40.5 million contract late Sunday night. He arrived in Mankato around 11 p.m. and immediately went to work trying to make up for the five practices he missed.
"I was excited," Peterson said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any butterflies at all. That's all part of it. But once I got out there I got comfortable and got loose and it was all having fun again."
The Vikings have said his collarbone -- which was broken twice last year at Oklahoma, including in the Sooners' Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State in January -- is fine and he is cleared for full practice.
Peterson participated in the full-pad session in the morning, absorbing a few hits, but he sat out the live 11-on-11 drill toward the end of practice.
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While Peterson's absence during the drill raised some eyebrows, Childress said that "wasn't by design" and that the he wasn't trying to protect his star running back.
Peterson also said his shoulder is ready to go.
"It's like starting over again," Peterson said. "It feels good to be out here and just have everything behind me, the collarbone, to have that behind me and over and done with, so it just feels good."
Childress said Peterson showed the fresh legs of someone who hasn't dragged through five practices in the heat.
"He showed some of that explosion that we anticipated and, by in large, did a good job," Childress said.
The biggest adjustment he will have to make is in pass protection. With NFL defenses employing more and more exotic blitz packages, Peterson will have to learn the ins and outs of reading and reacting to attacking cornerbacks, linebackers and safeties that come from every angle imaginable.
"He understands. I just would you tell the volume, if Oklahoma has six protections they're using, we've got 30 that need to be factored in a different way," Childress said.
Peterson knows he has some catching up to do, but he's anxious to get to work.
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"It was a tough experience, just sitting there waiting, waiting for that call with my contract to be finished," Peterson said. "Just being the type of competitor that I am I was ready to come to camp. But there is always a business side to it, so that side took care of itself."
