The former Minnesota Vikings running back isn’t looking to hang up his cleats just yet.
In an age where running backs are becoming less and less essential in NFL offenses, Adrian Peterson is still finding a way to continue his career in the league more than a decade after he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
Peterson, who is currently a member of the Washington Redskins, is now 35-years-old and there have been zero signs of him having any interest in ending his football career anytime soon.
He’s certainly not the game-changing back that he once was when he was suiting up for the Vikings, but he can still provide a team with some useful production in their offensive backfield.
When does the former Minnesota Vikings running back plan to retire from the NFL?
It’s sort of becoming a running joke at this point, but it seems like Peterson gets asked every offseason how much longer he would like to play in the league.
This year was no different as the former Minnesota running back was recently asked the infamous question and he responded with an answer that shouldn’t have surprised anyone who has followed his career.
"“Why not four more years? Why not? I don’t want to ever be in a position where I look back and say, ‘Man, I should have played two more years. I should have played another year.’ I want to enjoy it. I’m still chasing a championship. I still can play the game at a high level. For those reasons, and having that love and passion for the game, I’m going to continue to keep the ball rolling.”"
Peterson might also have his eye on something else before his career comes to an end and that is to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.
Currently, the former Vikings running back is sitting with 14,216 career rushing yards. If he’s going to break the league’s all-time record of 18.355 career rushing yards held by Emmitt Smith, Peterson will need to average around 1,035 yards over the next four seasons.
With the Redskins in 2018, he did end up with 1,042 rushing yards, so this goal doesn’t seem totally unattainable for the former Minnesota running back. His only problem might be keeping a job in the NFL long enough to break the record.
If Peterson can continue to prove that he can provide value to an offense, then him remaining in the league for another four seasons is certainly a possibility. But at the same time, don’t be surprised if the sport or the NFL ends his career before he gets the opportunity to make the decision himself.