After playing his first 10 years with the Minnesota Vikings, running back Adrian Peterson joined his third team in the last 11 months on Monday when he signed a one-year deal with the Washington Redskins.
At 33 years old, it’s fair to question whether the future Hall-of-Fame back has anything left in the tank. His stint with the New Orleans Saints early last season was a disaster, and the team dealt him to Arizona before the trade deadline. While his time with the Cardinals was better, he still only averaged 3.5 yards per carry in six games.
Still, the deal is worth the risk for the Redskins, who were short on running back choices. Peterson is a low-risk, high-reward free agent, and if put in the right situation, he can still have tremendous success in the NFL.
Redskins Need for a Running Back
The NFL preseason is a mere two weeks old, and the Redskins already have three key injuries in the backfield. Second-round pick Derrius Guice tore his left ACL in the first preseason game, which rules him out for the season.
Then in the second game this August, fellow running backs Samaje Perine and Bryon Marshall each suffered ankle injuries. Both are expected to miss at least a week and neither may be 100 percent until early September.
Samaje Perine expected to miss some time with an ankle sprain, likely a week at least, source says. Skins will need camp bodies at some point. https://t.co/XH5TXXo2YO
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 17, 2018
That leaves the Redskins extremely thin at running back. Chris Thompson was supposed to return to his change-of-pace, third-down pass-catching role, but he skyrocketed the depth chart to the starting spot. However, he’s been somewhat limited during training camp because he is returning from a broken leg he suffered last November.
Rob Kelley, who is the only other reliable running back on the Redskins roster, is hardly viewed as the preferable answer either after he averaged 3.1 yards per carry last season.
The injuries made signing another back a necessity for the Redskins. Peterson isn’t the same runner he was three years ago, but he is currently the best available. Washington’s other top choices were veteran Jamaal Charles and Orleans Darkwa.
Adrian Peterson Still Has Something Left in the Tank
The biggest problem Peterson experienced in New Orleans was when he was on the field, it was too obvious to defenses that he was going to receive a carry. The Saints attempted to split backfield snaps between Peterson, Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, but Ingram and Kamara were far better at pass-catching and blocking.
So when the Saints wanted to pass on early downs, Ingram and Kamara found themselves in the backfield. That tipped defenses that when Peterson was on the field, a running play was likely coming. It resulted in Peterson averaging 3.0 yards per carry in four games with the Saints.
With the Arizona Cardinals, things improved. Former Arizona coach Bruce Arians rarely designed his offense around the running game, but Peterson was more of a focal point. He went from playing about 17 percent of the offensive snaps with the Saints to nearly 70 percent of the offensive snaps in the first three games with the Cardinals.
And in two of those three games, Peterson rushed for more than 130 yards. He displayed a tremendous amount of burst too, recording eight 10-plus yard carries in those contests.
The #Redskins are hosting Adrian Peterson on a visit. It will be interesting to see if AP has anything left in his tank. He showed some last year with Cardinals like on this play AP is patient and shows good vision to hit the cut back lane on this outside zone play. pic.twitter.com/k5zjO0Oufa
— Cut N Dryve (@CutNDryve) August 19, 2018
How Adrian Peterson Fits with the Washington Redskins
If the Redskins were planning to use Peterson in a timeshare, then adding him to the mix probably wouldn’t be a good idea. The future Hall-of-Famer remained on the market until Monday in large part because teams are aware that he isn’t going to succeed in having to share a backfield.
His inability to supply much in the passing game means he can’t contribute on third down or in passing situations. Then it’s too obvious a running play has been called when he’s on the field.
But with all the injuries in Washington, Peterson could become the bell-cow for the Redskins. Even at 33, that works in his favour.
Style
Peterson is an old-school runner. He wears down defenses early in the game and then explodes in the fourth quarter. He’s averaged 5.0 yards per carry during the fourth quarter in his career. When he won his last rushing title in 2015, Peterson recorded 6.9 yards per rush in the fourth quarter.
If he’s on the field for 70 percent of the offensive snaps, he can find a rhythm and still be an effective runner. The more carries Peterson receivers as the game goes on, the better he gets. And in passing situations, the Redskins can turn to Thompson once he’s ready.
A neck injury ended Peterson’s season prematurely last year. In his final three games with the club, he averaged just 2.4 yards per rush. He doesn’t arrive in Washington without major questions.
But on a one-year contract and with so few other options, taking a flier on Peterson is a rather shrewd move. If he can flash even a little of his golden days as the NFL’s best running back, he will be a worthy addition to the Redskins depleted backfield.
