Veteran running back Adrian Peterson’s tenure with the Arizona Cardinals appears over. Mike Jurecki from Arizona’ 98.7 FM reported (h/t Arizonasports.com) that the Cardinals are expected to waive Peterson.
This news certainly isn’t shocking. Peterson finished the season on IR. So, he isn’t exactly entering the offseason in great health. That’s less than ideal for anyone, especially a soon to be 33-year-old running back.
Additionally, while Bruce Arians did express optimism about Peterson and a returning David Johnson working well together in 2018, two points need to be made. One, Arians is no longer the coach. Two, Peterson ended up with the Cardinals because he couldn’t work especially well with Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram with the New Orleans Saints.
Peterson finished 2017 with 529 rushing yards with two touchdowns. In New Orleans, he rushed for 81 yards on 27 carries, with the rest of the stats being accumulated in Arizona.
At this point, we should at least expect that Peterson will be somewhere in training camp. But given his age, inconsistent performance, and recent injuries, we also have to think that having a strong camp will be necessary if Peterson is going to prolong his NFL career.