Adrian Peterson might not be with the Vikings, but he’s still doing all he can to contribute.

The star running back, on the NFL’s exempt list following a Sept. 12 indictment in Texas on a felony charge of child abuse, has been texting teammates to offer advice. On Sunday, he was said to have sent in words that were used by Vikings coach Mike Zimmer in a pre-game speech to players.

“The words that Adrian texted Coach Zimmer, it was very deep,” quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said after Minnesota’s 41-28 win over Atlanta at TCF Bank Stadium. “One thing that I took away from that message was, play each down like it’s your last because you never know when it’s going to be your last opportunity. I think the guys got that message pretty well. We went out, we fought. It was just a great overall team effort.”

It sure looks as if the running backs got the message. Rookie Jerick McKinnon, who had said before the game Peterson had been texting him running tips, carried 18 times for 135 yards, 128 more than he had gained in his previous three games combined.

In the two previous games without Peterson, the Vikings gained just 113 yards and had a paltry average of 2.8 yards per carry. On Sunday, with starter Matt Asiata carrying 20 times for 78 yards and three touchdowns, they had 44 attempts for 241 yards and a 5.5 average.

Follow Chris Tomasson at twitter.com/christomasson.