EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The notion of a running back committee has been foreign in these parts since 2007, when Adrian Peterson burst into the NFL by breaking the single-game rushing record and carrying 238 times as a rookie. After Peterson's rookie year, the Minnesota Vikings had just one game before this season in which they'd given two running backs 10-plus carries on the same day. That came on Dec. 24, 2011, when Peterson tore his ACL.

But Peterson's absence for most of the season has forced the Vikings to return to the running back committee, staple of the modern ground game and scourge of fantasy football owners everywhere. The Vikings have given both Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon double-digit carries in two of their three wins without Peterson, using Asiata on 47.3 percent of their offensive snaps and McKinnon on 44.7 percent this season. Now, they'll add to the mix former Cleveland Browns running back Ben Tate, whom they claimed off waivers on Tuesday after Tate was released on Monday.

Tate expressed some displeasure with the Browns' three-back arrangement earlier this month, and Browns coach Mike Pettine said he eventually gave more carries to Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West than Tate because the young running backs were more explosive. Tate could have to coexist in a similar setup in Minnesota, though he could find some early opportunities this week with Asiata currently out because of a concussion. McKinnon -- who leads the Vikings with 98 carries this season -- also did not practice on Wednesday because of a lower-back injury, but the rookie has played with the ailment for several weeks. He carried only eight times for 38 yards on Sunday, though, and appeared to miss some chances for bigger runs.

The Vikings have mostly used Asiata in goal-line and passing situations, and if he's at risk of not playing Sunday with a concussion, the Vikings might be looking for another back who can be a between-the-tackles complement to McKinnon. Tate showed good speed coming out of Auburn (he ran a 4.43 40 at the combine in 2011), and gained 942 yards on 175 carries as a rookie, but has seen his yards per carry drop since then and was averaging only 3.1 yards per rush in Cleveland.

Still, he's a sturdy runner who caught 34 passes last season and could fill Asiata's role if needed (though it should be noted that Tate fumbled once every 45.25 carries last season, the third-worst fumble rate among qualifying running backs). He's another addition to the group for the Vikings -- and that group, it appears, will be what the Vikings have to operate their running game with for now.