Adrian Peterson doesn’t want to retire from the NFL, but he should
By Adam Patrick
Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has no desire to hang up his cleats anytime soon.
It’s that time of year again where former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson declares that he wants to keep playing in the NFL for at least another five or six years.
The latest version of this has Peterson telling TMZ that he wants to still be playing in the league when he’s 40-years-old.
This is very similar to the former Vikings running back declaring last June that he would like to continue his NFL career for another four years. But after his performance in 2020 with the Detroit Lions, his time in the league might have already come to an end.
Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson should just retire
Even at 35-years-old, Peterson was still able to appear in all 16 games for the Lions this past season. But his presence on the field each week didn’t exactly translate to impressive numbers.
With Detroit in 2020, Peterson finished with just 705 total yards (604 rushing, 101 receiving) and seven touchdowns. It was the fourth time in the last five seasons the former Minnesota running back failed to rush for at least 900 yards.
This year, Peterson is a free agent once again, and he’s hoping to land with a team that can help him earn his first-ever Super Bowl ring. Recently, he said he is “interested,” in helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season in their attempt to win their second-straight Super Bowl.
Despite Peterson’s desire to continue his NFL career in 2021, he could be in for a rude awakening this offseason. This might be surprising to some (including Peterson), but the interest from around the league in a running back who will be 36-years-old next season isn’t exactly expected to be high.
When free agency begins in March, Peterson isn’t going to be courted by a handful of teams bidding for his services. An invite to compete for a roster spot in training camp is likely going to be the best offer presented to the former Vikings running back this offseason.
Peterson continues to have his heart set on breaking the NFL’s all-time record for career rushing yards that is currently held by Emmitt Smith. Currently, the former Minnesota running back needs 3,536 more rushing yards to break Smith’s record.
In his last three seasons in the league, Peterson has averaged 848 rushing yards. At this pace, he would need to remain in the NFL for another five years to end up as the league’s all-time rushing leader.
This is about the amount of time Peterson has said he wants to continue playing in the NFL, but it doesn’t mean teams are going to continue to employ him for another five seasons. This goal of his just isn’t very realistic.
So instead of continuing down this path that is going to lead to zero interest from any team in the league sooner than later, Peterson should just retire now and avoid the humiliation.