The the loss of Toby Gerhart this offseason to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minnesota Vikings are looking at who to put in his shoes as Adrian Peterson’s backup. As we saw with Gerhart over the years, the role of Peterson’s backup isn’t one to be taken lightly and a solid back is needed in the position.
While it’s not a pressing need in terms of looking at free agents, the Vikings nevertheless took a look at former Cardinals and Steelers back LaRod Stephens-Howling recently.
"They’ve checked on some veteran players like the Pittsburgh Steelers’ LaRod Stephens-Howling, who played for Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson last year with the Steelers (and had one of his strongest games against the Vikings in 2012 with Arizona). He’s coming off a torn ACL, but as we all know, the Vikings have something of a strong history with running backs coming off knee injuries."
He’s a guy who could fill the role, but the Vikings may stay in-house with their next running back behind Peterson and that means going out and drafting or signing a guy is out of the question.