MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has said he's more open this year than he has been in recent years to getting some work during the preseason. Coach Mike Zimmer, though, said he isn't sure that will be necessary.

Zimmer said Thursday he doesn't "know that there's a need" to play Peterson in the preseason, adding the team's two joint practices with the Cincinnati Bengals could get the NFL's leading rusher some of the work he needs without the risks of live tackling in an exhibition game. Peterson last played in a preseason game in 2013, when he got one series against the San Francisco 49ers, and hasn't carried the ball in the preseason since 2011.

The Vikings may look to limit Adrian Peterson's participation in preseason games. Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports

"Some of the different runs that we’re running, maybe it might be good to get him a couple of reps," Zimmer said. "But that’s probably the good thing about practicing against Cincinnati. I don’t have to see him in live things, but I can see him in other situations. But I don’t know, I’ll have to think about that one."

The coach said after last season it's possible he should have played Peterson during the 2015 preseason, when the running back was returning to the NFL following his 2014 suspension and trying to get reacquainted with the Vikings' offense. The team had shifted to more shotgun sets during Peterson's absence, and after a clunky start for Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings largely scrapped shotgun handoffs for Peterson, putting Bridgewater under center more than he was during his rookie season.

"I thought he’d probably have some more catches, but you know, I probably made some mistakes going forward – he’s out for the year, we come back, I don’t play him in the preseason games and then we’re kind of figuring out things," Zimmer said during his season-ending news conference last January. "I felt like we were figuring things out a little bit at the beginning of the year, especially offensively with that whole dynamic. That was probably a mistake that I made. I probably should have been more involved with trying to get things, and I don’t know, maybe playing him. Just different things that I probably should have figured out."

This year, though, the Vikings had Peterson on the field for both their organized team activities and minicamp, and Zimmer sounded encouraged earlier this week with the progress Peterson had made on shotgun runs. The Vikings undoubtedly will spend more time during training camp trying to smooth out the connection between Peterson and Bridgewater. And because of Zimmer's relationship with both the Bengals' defenders -- many of whom he coached during his six years with the team -- and head coach Marvin Lewis, the joint practices could be a relatively safe environment for Peterson.

The first of the two practices, on Aug. 10, will be in pads, Zimmer said. If there's any fighting after the whistle, the coach won't be afraid to reprimand both his current players and his former ones.

"Marvin and I have a great relationship. We talk a lot," Zimmer said. "You know, the players there, I have a lot of respect for [them] and I believe they have respect for me. So I think that we’ll be able to practice the right way. There won’t be any issues that way because they know I’ll still get after them too."