Titans sign Adrian Peterson to replace injured Derrick Henry
By John Buhler
The Tennessee Titans are adding Adrian Peterson in the wake of Derrick Henry potentially being lost for the season with a foot injury.
With Tennessee Titans superstar running back Derrick Henry down for the count with what looks to be a Jones fracture, the AFC South leaders are signing Adrian Peterson to the practice squad.
Given the dire state of the Titans’ running back room after Henry’s injury, Tennessee could use the former NFL MVP with the Minnesota Vikings and college football legend at Oklahoma who last played for the 2020 Detroit Lions.
Though he is past his prime, Peterson did have his eighth 1,000-yard rushing season when he was with Washington in 2018. Peterson is signing to the practice squad with the expectation of being elevated to the active roster, according to Adam Schefter.
While Peterson is not the type of running back who is adept at catching the ball out of the backfield, his unique skillset compares very favorably to what Henry has to offer.
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Peterson has been a future first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer for several years now. Though he made his last trip to the Pro Bowl and earned his most recent All-Pro nod with the 2015 Vikings, Peterson has continued to amaze people with how well he runs the football into his 30s. Peterson is 36-years-old and is rapidly approaching 15,000 career rushing yards in the NFL.
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So how much would Peterson help out the Titans?
He will at the very least be a stabilizing presence in the Tennessee backfield. Peterson is not good as he once was, but he can still put together a handful of punishing runs between the tackles in an NFL game. Given that Tennessee is the runaway favorite to win the AFC South, the Titans are not a pressure-packed situation for him.
Though there are other options on the free-agent market, Peterson to the Titans might happen.