Former Vikings RB Adrian Peterson Signs Deal With NFC Rival

One of the best players in the history of the Minnesota Vikings has joined forces with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson inked a deal with the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday to join Russel Wilson and company in a last gasp effort to save the team’s season. Adam Schefter, NFL insider with ESPN, was first to break the news via Twitter.

“Seahawks are signing RB Adrian Peterson to their practice squad, per HC Pete Carroll,” Schefter wrote online.

While Peterson is headed to the practice squad, the news coming out of Seattle Wednesday indicated that the team plans to elevate the future Hall of Fame back to active status for Sunday’s must-win home game against the San Francisco 49ers.

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Bob Condatta, of the Seattle Times, reported that Carroll said “we’re trying to get ready to win this football game,” during a media session. He added that the timing of Peterson’s signing will allow the Seahawks to elevate him to the main roster in time for showdown with the Niners.

At 3-8 and in the cellar of the NFC West Division, the move by Seattle carries with it the stench of desperation as it has been six years since Peterson was selected to the Pro-Bowl. He has, however, proven a serviceable NFL running back in the more than half decade since and might well prove an update over current Seahawks starter Alex Collins, who has rushed for more than 50 yards in a game only once this year.

The Vikings have contributed to Seattle’s woes this season, defeating the Seahawks by a score of 30-17 back in Week 3.

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Seattle Will be Peterson’s Second NFL Stint This Season

Seattle moved on Peterson just eight days after the 36-year-old veteran was released by the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans signed Peterson after a foot injury sidelined Derrick Henry presumably for at least the remainder of the regular season. At the time, Henry was leading the NFL in rushing by several hundred yards. Peterson’s stint in Tennessee lasted just three games. He carried the ball a total of 27 times during that span, gaining 82 rushing yards and scoring one TD, per ESPN.

His stop in Seattle could prove the last in an illustrious career for Peterson, who has managed far more mileage than the average NFL running back over the course of his 15-year NFL tenure.

According to an article published on Pro Football Reference that offered a broad statistical breakdown of fantasy football production for various offensive positions in the NFL, running backs “…tend to peak between [the ages of] 23 and 25. From 26 to 28, they generally experience slight declines (around 50er year). After 28, the declines can become much more severe.”

Based on the above information, Peterson has been beating the odds for nearly a decade but every story, even the greatest ones, have to end sometime.

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Recap of Peterson’s Hall-of-Fame Career in Minnesota

Peterson played for the Detroit Lions in 2020, following a two-year stint with the Washington Football Team as RB1. Before that, he bounced between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints in 2017, his first year after departing from Minnesota.

During Peterson’s 10 seasons with the Vikings, he was selected to the Pro-Bowl seven times and named a First-Team All-Pro four times, per Pro Football Reference.

With 11,747 rushing yards, he leads the franchise in that category by nearly 5,000 yards over the next closest running back (Robert Smith). He played in 123 games as a Viking, scoring 102 total TDs including 97 on the ground.

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