Adrian Peterson has no doubt enjoyed a brilliant career.
All three years at Oklahoma, Peterson ran for over 1,000 yards and 10+ touchdowns. In the NFL, Peterson has rushed for 1,000 yards in seven of his 10 seasons and had at least 10+ touchdowns in eight of them. The seasons he has not had double digit touchdowns were in 2014 (suspension) and 2016 (torn meniscus).
Which brings me to my point.
The Vikings did not want to bring back Peterson for his 11thseason with the team because he would have had a cap hit of $18 million and the Vikings simply cannot afford to pay a single player, who has missed 28 games over the last three seasons, that much money.
When healthy, Peterson is one of the best but Father Time is catching up to him. Throughout his career, he has only played a full season four times.
He is getting up there in age (turns 32 on March 21st) and with the Vikings signing Latavius Murray to a three year deal in the early hours of Thursday morning, it looks like Minnesota is ready to move on from their franchise leading rusher.
AP may feel like he has something left in the tank and there are plenty of teams that need running backs but if he does get signed, it will be for significantly less money than he is used to, and he will not be the featured back.
We all want to remember Adrian Peterson has the guy who tore his ACL at towards the end of one year only to come back a year later and rush for over 2,000 yards but that is like a distant memory.
My belief is, the longer he stays in the league, the more he tarnishes his legacy and hurts his chance at a Hall of Fame induction. He already has a black mark on his name from when he got suspended for beating his kid with a switch.
My advice, hang it up AP. Do not be the guy who stuck around too long because you thought you could still play. Injuries have plauged you throughout your career and the older you get, the more susceptible to injury you become.
You were great for many years in Minnesota. Let us remember you for that.