Adrian Peterson is allowing Jamaal Charles to keep the "LeBron James of the NFL" title, but only if the Minnesota Vikings running back can be Michael Jordan.

Kansas City Chiefs star Charles - sidelined for the rest of the NFL season due to a serious knee injury - originally called himself "the LeBron James of the NFL" in August.

Charles' description was swiftly met by a response from Peterson, who claimed he was more like the Cleveland Cavaliers' 11-time NBA All-Star.

However, Peterson seems to have changed his tune, turning to Chicago Bulls icon and six-time NBA champion Jordon.

"I'll say I'm the Michael Jordan,'' Peterson told reporters.

"There's always the debate, would LeBron be better than Michael? So I'll say I'm the Michael Jordan of football.''

The Vikings will host the Chiefs on Sunday, but Charles will not be suiting up.

Charles tore his anterior crucial ligament in his right knee last week against the Chicago Bears and will be out for the season.

With the news that Charles will be out for the rest of the year, Peterson was not about to make fun of Charles while he was down.

"It hurt me to the core to see my guy go down and in the opposite leg as well,'' Peterson said of Charles' torn left ACL injury from 2011.

"Knowing Jamaal, he'll bounce back. I hated to see him go down like that. He's been through it before with the left knee and he kind of knows what to expect during this rehab and recovering from it. That's one positive.

"He has so much talent. He's one of those guys that has that God-given ability. I think if he just has his mind right mentally and puts the work in, he'll be just fine.''

Peterson said he has not reached out to Charles, but plans to do so during the off-season. 

"What I want to do is kind of sit back because I know his phone is blowing up because I know how it was when I had mine,'' said Peterson, who also tore his ACL in 2011.

"I want to catch him when he's kind of down and ... his mind is kind of adjusting to everything that's happened and talk to him then.

"I'll reach out to him during the offseason, when I know he's back down in Texas, and try to get him to come work out with my guys and get him back to doing what he does best.''