Peterson Wants To Stay With Redskins

In August, the Redskins signed Adrian Peterson to a one-year deal after a rash of injuries to their backfield. Now, Peterson is hoping to continue that arrangement into 2019 and the Redskins also have some interest in a new deal, ESPN.com’s John Keim writes. 

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After Week 13, Peterson ranks eighth in the NFL with 856 rushing yards, which isn’t too shabby for a 33-year-old running back. He was actually fifth in the NFL after eight weeks, but his yards per carry average has dipped in recent weeks thanks to a banged up Redskins’ offensive line and a shoulder injury of his own.

All of these factors make it difficult to accurately assess Peterson’s performance. Last night, the Redskins got a glimpse of prime Peterson when he rattled off a 90-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Eagles. But, at the same time, he averaged just one yard on his other eight carries. You read that right – on a night where Peterson became the oldest player to rattle off a 90-yard touchdown run, he also failed to reach 100 yards overall.

The Redskins are also expecting Derrius Guice to return healthy in 2019 and still have pass-catching specialist Chris Thompson under contract, so there’s not a real clear need for Peterson. Peterson, in theory, could split time with Guice, but he didn’t take kindly to his limited role in New Orleans and it’s not clear if he’ll be willing to average single-digit carries in 2019.

For what it’s worth, he has the support of at least one teammate.

You look at Guice and he’s one of those backs you could be talking about for a long time,” said Redskins left tackle Trent Williams. “He could benefit tremendously from Adrian. With Adrian showing how much he has left in the tank, I don’t know if he’d want to come back and waste away his final seasons as a mentor when he could be adding to his legacy somewhere. He could still be the guy.”

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