Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is on the move
Adrian Peterson‘s final season with the Minnesota Vikings transpired 2016. Since his departure, Peterson has played for the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and the Washington Football Team. In a mostly unforeseen development, Washington cut ties with the inevitable Hall of Famer marking the loss of the team’s second notable halfback in the last several weeks. The Football Team cut running back Derrick Guice last month after some contemptible allegations surfaced involving the 23-year-old.
Ordinarily, for a man like Peterson, this would be the end of the line. He will be 36 years old next March, and that is far and away longer than most NFL running backs extend their careers. But men like Peterson and fellow statesman Frank Gore are lengthening the life expectancy of running backs, if recent history is any indicator.
To a degree, Peterson has been individually successful since he last put on a Vikings helmet. Since 2017, he ranks 13th in the NFL in rushing yards (2,469). He’s also been handed the football 618 times in these three seasons, which is the 10th-most carries in the business. He’s played in more football games than Aaron Rodgers, Carson Wentz, Aaron Jones, and Leonard Fournette since 2017.
Although Peterson’s latest contributions have occurred with non-playoff teams, he still has some production left to offer. He will not rejoin the Minnesota Vikings, but other teams around the league could be a match for his services.
In order of least-likely to most-likely, these are seven teams that could sign the longtime Minnesota Viking.
7. Carolina Panthers
Christian McCaffrey is probably the best tailback in the business and doesn’t need much assistance in the Panthers backfield. In 2019, McCaffrey received more touches than a teenager’s smartphone. And, he does it all. Not only is McCaffrey a preeminent rusher of the football, but he is also a supreme pass-catcher. The Panthers halfback was targeted 142 times last year, and coincidentally, that is the same number of targets that Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs received combined for the Vikings in 2019.
This would be a depth signing. After McCaffrey, Carolina currently has Reggie Bonnafon, Mike Davis, and Trenton Cannon on its halfback depth chart. If you know who those men are, kudos to you for the guru-level of gridiron fandom.
If Peterson signed on in Charlotte, he would have to pick his spots. McCaffrey’s workload won’t be abated too mightily with new head coach Matt Rhule, if at all. Yet, Peterson could shine in a complementary fashion.
6. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles drafted Miles Sanders in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft to eventually be their premiere halfback. The time has arrived.
Sanders split carries last season with veteran Jordan Howard, but Howard has since traveled to Miami. Howard will split carries with former San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida for the Dolphins in 2020.
Howard’s exodus will, by default, promote Miles Sanders to undisputed RB1 and rightfully so. Sanders was explosive during his rookie season. However, Sanders plays more like Dalvin Cook than he does Adrian Peterson. The Eagles frequently showcased him as a pass-catcher, and it was an astute tactic.
After Sanders on Philadelphia’s depth chart, it’s the shifty Boston Scott and then RB3 Corey Clement. Peterson-to-the-Eagles seems sensible as the former Viking would bring a downhill runner into the fold. The Eagles ranked 11th in the NFL for rushing yards in 2019, so a replacement for Howard is in order should Philadelphia prefer the tandem of a scatback and north-and-south guy as it utilized last season.
5. Atlanta Falcons
The Los Angeles Rams turned out the lights on the Todd Gurley experiment culminating with the running back’s release in March. The Atlanta Falcons wasted no time and inked Gurley a day later.
Running back Devonta Freeman is no longer employed by the Falcons (or any other NFL team). Peterson testing the waters in Atlanta would sure fit the mold of his recent stops as the Falcons play in the NFC and they are in a southern market. Since Peterson left Minnesota, this has been his modus operandi as evidenced by stints in New Orleans, Arizona, and Washington.
The Falcons had the league’s third-worst rushing attack in 2019. Only the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins tallied fewer team rushing yards. Peterson would not be a player that transforms that ranking single-handedly anymore, but he would complement Todd Gurley respectably.
Behind Gurley on the roster sit running backs Brian Hill, Ito Smith, and about three other men that feel obligatory for a practice squad or Dwyane Johnson’s XFL.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
This is where Adrian Peterson should land if his sole purpose in life is to chip away at Emmitt Smith’s all-time rushing yards record. He’s 4,140 rushing yards away from surpassing the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer for the No.1 spot on the all-time list.
In Jacksonville, Peterson would likely wave a wand and get the bulk of all carries. The Jaguars inexplicably released halfback Leonard Fournette this week leaving a dreadful pothole on the team’s depth chart at running back.
His assignment in Jacksonville would be eerily similar to that he carried out in Washington: Go out and get some rushing yards while we lose these games.
The Jaguars have solidified themselves as the frontrunners in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes as of late. They have found ways to unload cornerback Jalen Ramsey, pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, and now Leonard Fournette. It’s a full rebuild up and down the roster, and strangely, Adrian Peterson would fit in with the strategy.
3. Dallas Cowboys
On to the heavy hitters.
It is a longstanding rumor — dating back six years — that Adrian Peterson would relish playing for the Dallas Cowboys. The days, months, and years needed to bring this rumor to fruition are shrinking. Now would be the last best chance for Peterson to step foot into Jerry World.
Peterson generally has complimentary quips to offer on Cowboys running back, Ezekiel Elliott. Also, Peterson is from Texas and played his high school football in the Lone Star State. New Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is wickedly familiar with Peterson’s abilities of old as the two butted heads twice per year from 2007 to 2016 when McCarthy was the skipper for the Green Bay Packers.
More importantly, the Cowboys should be honest-to-goodness contenders in the NFC. Dallas’ roster is incredibly balanced and with Jason Garrett finally gone, Cowboys faithful unsurprisingly feel “this is their year.”
If Dallas is the landing spot, Peterson would again return to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Vikings around Thanksgiving.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Or he could join a team that is as sure-fire a Super Bowl contender as it gets.
The Chiefs recently agreed to pay quarterback Patrick Mahomes a half-billion dollars over the next decade to get Kansas City to the Super Bowl on an annual basis. That will not happen, but the Chiefs will go down swinging in each postseason.
Here, Peterson would change his reputation and begin chasing rings rather than chasing records. The Chiefs are registered with sportsbooks as the team most likely to once again win the Super Bowl.
Kansas City doesn’t truly need a running back as Patrick Mahomes is theorized to do everything by his lonesome. Although, the Chiefs currently boast a running back room that includes rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire and second-year halfback Darwin Thompson from Utah State University. Peterson would probably slide into an RB2 role admirably with the Chiefs. If any team can make an offense tick with a past-his-prime running back, it’s the duo of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
Oh, and the Chiefs running back coach, Eric Bienemy, was Peterson’s first-ever running back coach. Bienemy was a member of the Vikings coaching staff from 2006-2010.
1. Houston Texans
Adrian Peterson played football at Palestine High School before his jump to the collegiate level at the University of Oklahoma. Palestine, Texas, is about two hours from downtown Houston.
This would be a fitting homecoming for Peterson if this is indeed his final stop. Although the way Peterson talks, he could play until the next worldwide pandemic takes place.
The Texans notched the NFL’s 9th-best rushing yards total in 2019. Then, they cut ties with their leading rusher, Carlos Hyde, in favor of former Arizona Cardinals tailback David Johnson. It came at a hefty price. The Texans dealt game-changing wideout, DeAndre Hopkins, to Arizona for Johnson and some draft picks.
David Johnson and Adrian Peterson were teammates for a minute in Arizona. The Texans consistently utilize a hodgepodge of running backs under head coach Bill O’Brien, and it usually works quite well.
In Houston, Peterson could receive a considerable amount of touches, contend for a Super Bowl, and finally play football close to home.
Houston is the frontrunner, at least in theory.