Dallas Cowboys preseason schedule has an Adrian Peterson hook

The Dallas Cowboys announced their preseason schedule Thursday and it features a familiar trend that also gives an indication of their training camp plans.

The Cowboys will open the preseason with two games on the West Coast. They will play at the San Diego Chargers the week of Aug. 13-17 and then play at the San Francisco 49ers the week of Aug. 20-24.

Preseason dates and times have not been finalized.

But this likely means the Cowboys will have have an extended stay in California for training camp at their usual Oxnard, Calif., location. The start of training camp has not been set, but it usually begins in the final week of July.

The Cowboys close the preseason with home games against the Minnesota Vikings during the week of Aug. 27-30 and the Houston Texans during the week of Sept. 3-4 .

The intriguing part of the matchup against the Vikings is whether star running back Adrian Peterson will play as a Viking or as a Cowboy.

The third preseason game is also the unofficial dress rehearsal for the season. Most teams play their starters for at least a half and sometimes through three quarters. That means Peterson will get his most extensive, real-time action in almost a year.

Peterson remains a member of the Vikings, but has made no secret of his desire to be traded to the Cowboys.

The NFL has not released the 2015 regular-season schedule. It is normally released in late April.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Dallas Cowboys preseason schedule has an Adrian Peterson hook."