As it stands, the Washington Redskins are expected to enter the 2019 NFL season with Derrius Guice – the 2018 second-round pick who missed his entire rookie year with a torn ACL – as their starting running back. If he stays healthy and produces as expected, he will be backed up by one of the best NFL running backs of the past decade or so in Adrian Peterson. However, rumors from earlier this week suggest that the Redskins considered cutting the four-time All-Pro, supposedly due to concerns over how he may react to a reduction in playing time.
In a report published on the website of Washington, D.C., radio station 106.7 The Fan on Tuesday, Jason Bishop said on the station’s Sports Junkies radio show that Redskins head coach Jay Gruden allegedly “did not want to keep” Peterson on the roster. Together with co-host Eric Bickel, Bishop further revealed that there was an “argument” between two Redskins officials, with one in favor of cutting the 34-year-old running back and the other preferring to keep him around.
As quoted by 106.7 The Fan , Bishop noted that the Redskins supposedly were thinking of waiving Peterson not because of his production, but rather because of his alleged refusal to play a second-string role.
“[Peterson] likes to get in Jay’s ear if he’s not playing. And Jay doesn’t want to deal with it. And that’s a well-placed source that told us that. And so there was a fight… apparently, there was some sort of a disagreement on Saturday over [at Redskins] Park about it.”
In an NFL career that has spanned 12 seasons so far, Adrian Peterson has accumulated 13,318 rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns, along with 2,223 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions. The seventh pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma, “AP” spent his prime years with the Minnesota Vikings before joining the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, and most recently, the Washington Redskins. Last season, Peterson rushed for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns as the Redskins’ starting running back.
“A well-placed source” tells @JunksRadio #Redskins head coach Jay Gruden “did not want to keep” Adrian Peterson. https://t.co/rSVd7uR0MO
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) September 3, 2019
Meanwhile, Derrius Guice won’t be the only youngster vying for meaningful minutes in the Redskins’ offensive backfield in the upcoming 2019 NFL season. Earlier this year, Washington selected Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins as the 15th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, in hopes of addressing their weakness at the quarterback position. However, as Sporting News reported late last month, Gruden will be starting veteran Case Keenum at quarterback for Sunday’s Week 1 game against the Eagles, telling reporters that the journeyman signal-caller has “picked up the offense pretty well” since joining the team via an offseason trade with the Denver Broncos.