Adrian Peterson rumors: Visited Patriots, now meets with Saints
Running back Adrian Peterson has met with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, and will visit the New Orleans Saints on Monday.
When the Minnesota Vikings decided not to exercise veteran running back Adrian Peterson’s contract option, they cast off someone who had become a liability, both on and off the field. Still, it is just matter of time before somebody picks him up off the market.
So far, Peterson has met with the Seahawks and Patriots. Neither team has made any public moves to indicate they are serious about him. It seems like they might both be holding out until the draft, which contains some interesting prospects including Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey.
Whatever plans those teams have, we can now add the Saints to his Rolodex of meetings. He has confirmed to ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he will meet with the Saints on Monday and Tuesday.
All of these teams must have reservations about signing Peterson. He just turned 32 years old and hasn’t played a meaningful game since 2015. Most concerning, he has a major blot on his record due to pleading no contest to recklessly beating his son. Add a history of injuries into the mix while we’re talking about it. It’s likely all three teams will wait until the draft for better, cheaper options.
Peterson will put any future employer in a high-risk, low-reward situation. If he underperforms, they have an expansive distraction on their hands. If he gets injured again, they should have seen it coming. Even if he performs adequately, fans will have expected more from the former MVP.
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If he plays exceptionally well (something unlikely for a running back over 30) some fans will still have reservations about supporting someone with a record like his. He’s a walking catch-22, and it will take a lot of fancy PR work and coaching to find a way out.