FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- As the New England Patriots prepare to host free-agent running back Adrian Peterson on Monday, it is timely to revisit comments from team president Jonathan Kraft in 2014.

Kraft's remarks came as part of his weekly pregame radio interview on the day the Patriots were visiting Peterson's former team, the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson was deactivated by the Vikings for the game after he was indicted by a grand jury in Montgomery County, Texas, on charges that he injured his 4-year-old son by beating him with a switch. Peterson had admitted striking his son, but said he never intended to hurt him.

Asked about Peterson that day, Kraft said, "I just don’t get it, so it is hard to comment on. Other than the fact the way I was brought up and the way I brought my children is you don’t lay your hands on them. From where I sit, it is completely unacceptable and as abhorrent as what we have been talking about [with Ray Rice]. It was interesting hearing some people raise a defense about it being cultural, and I can’t comment on that.

“Everything I have heard about this makes you just physically uncomfortable as the other stuff we have talked about. And I think it is a real issue, and in this case I think Adrian Peterson in his comments basically did say it is a thing he grew up with and is culturally what the norm is. I can’t comment on it because it is just so alien to me."

At the time, many were still gaining an understanding of Peterson's situation. The Vikings suspended him (with pay) for the rest of the '14 season.

In November 2014, Peterson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge. He was ordered to undergo counseling, pay a $4,000 fine and perform 80 hours of community service. A 2016 Sports Illustrated story detailed the various layers of Peterson's story, tracing back to his time growing up in Palestine, Texas.

In that SI story, reporter Greg Bishop wrote, "To Peterson, how outsiders view his case is an indication of a cultural misunderstanding. He says he disciplined his child the way his parents disciplined him, which is the way many parents punished their children where he grew up. No one there called it corporal punishment or child abuse. They called it parenting, even good parenting."

Now that the Patriots are hosting Peterson on a visit Monday, one obvious question is whether Kraft's viewpoint on Peterson -- with the benefit of more information -- has changed since Sept, 14, 2014. This will undoubtedly be a significant part of the sports-based discussion in the region Monday, possibly even overtaking what many would have projected to be the story of the day, the Boston Red Sox opening the 2017 season at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Whether Peterson is a pure football fit is up for debate, but that's only part of the discussion.

If Bill Belichick decides the answer is yes, it leads to the more important second part: Would Robert and Jonathan Kraft sign off on it?