New Orleans Saints could give Adrian Peterson new life
The New Orleans Saints might not have been the ideal choice for Adrian Peterson, but they might be his chance to make a vengeful comeback.
When the New Orleans Saints signed Adrian Peterson, many people (including myself) scratched their heads. It was assumed he would take his talents to New England or Seattle until the Saints were basically his only choice. With news out of OTAs and quotes from Sean Payton, though, New Orleans might be exactly where AD belongs.
There's no reason to go into Peterson's stats as we all know he's a future Hall-of-Famer. With seven 1,000-yard seasons behind him, Peterson is still chasing his legacy. After an injury-plagued season with Minnesota, he has a lot of time to make up for and a competitor's mentality. At over 30, he has a huge target on his back regardless.
With the Saints, Peterson has a chance to become an entirely new player and man. Being in Minnesota wasn't always sunshine and rainbows for him. Over the course of his tenure with the Vikings, he sustained season-ending injuries, was investigated for child abuse and failed to really break out under quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
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Now Peterson has the chance to play with Drew Brees, arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. While Peterson was utilized mostly as a traditional running back taking carries, the Saints seem to have other plans.
Reports out of OTAs discuss Peterson not only completing running back drills, but catching passes from Brees. With such a pass-heavy offense, there's no way Peterson won't be performing as a pass-catcher out of the backfield from time to time.
He'll also be going to a team who needs a difference maker in their running game. Brees, for the most part, anchors the offense. But despite Mark Ingram's statistical success, stability has been elusive in the run game. With Peterson, they get a seasoned veteran who is used to running an offense and making a big impact.
The other reason Peterson should thrive is that he's able to enjoy the game. Last season, there were talks about his contract and his injury. Two years before was the child abuse case. He'll finally be getting a chance to go out and just play.
Being a member of the New Orleans Saints might not have been in his plan, but Peterson has the chance to thrive. It's no guarantee, but that's not really the point. The Saints might finally have their missing puzzle piece for a winning season, and that's all that matters for now.
