Adrian Peterson Is No Longer A New Orleans Saint
Well, that didn't last long. You kinda knew it in that first game when Adrian Peterson had a stare-down with New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Adrian Peterson is a thoroughbred, and thoroughbred's don't like to be kept in the stall. They need to be released to do what they do best: run.
The many skeptics, including me, who questioned the wisdom of signing Peterson are gloating just a little today. Acquiring one of the greatest running backs of all time and trying to rotate him with another thoroughbred--Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram, Jr.--just didn't make sense. Both Peterson and Ingram are the types of backs that wear down a defense; they get better as the game goes on. Putting them in for a play or two here or there doesn't give them a chance to adjust to what the opposing team is trying to do to stop them.
Then the Saints select another elite college running back in Alvin Kamara who many scouts believed was the best back at the NFL Combine. How was that going to work? The obvious answer is: it didn't.
The New Orleans Saints traded Adrian Peterson to the Phoenix Cardinals yesterday for an undisclosed 2018 draft pick. Never mind that Peterson may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire; the Cardinals have one of the worst offensive lines in the league and are ranked dead last in rushing, averaging just 51.8 yards per game and 2.6 yards per carry. Peterson will now be where all thoroughbreds, even aging ones, need to be: out on the field, running.