Just hours after Adrian Peterson was released by the Washington Football Team on Friday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said several teams are already showing interest in signing the free agent.
When he was cut, the predominant theory was Peterson would be hard-pressed to land on a new roster quickly because the league’s deadline for teams to get down to 53 players is just 24 hours away. Now it appears there are at least a couple of organizations that believe they can find a way to make him fit.
Florio said one of the obvious candidates for Peterson is the Jacksonville Jaguars. They just recently parted ways with 2019’s starting running back Leonard Fournette. While most assumed they would try and fill his spot in-house, they likely didn’t realize the future Hall of Famer was going to be available just a few days later.
The analyst pointed out that if Peterson is wanting one more shot at a Super Bowl appearance, the Jaguars are likely not high on his list. Many think they are in the middle of a sell-off in order to make sure they have the first pick in the 2021 draft, even if they deny it. The running back’s cut followed their trade of defensive star Yannick Ngakoue last weekend.
The analyst said one intriguing candidate is the Kansas City Chiefs. They were said to have at least shown some interest in Fournette after he was released.
He said Peterson wouldn’t be the starter if he did sign with the Chiefs. They’ve made it clear Clyde Edwards-Helaire is going to get every opportunity to be their featured back in his rookie year. But the writer believes Peterson would be an interesting complement.
Veteran running back Damien Williams — who performed well enough in the 2020 Super Bowl that some thought he should have won the MVP — opted out of the season after he found out his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The former Viking could fill some variation of what the Chiefs had planned for Williams this year.
The New England Patriots are said to be another organization that will at least talk to Peterson. They too were thought to be interested in Fournette before he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday.
Head coach Bill Belichick just got the news that Sony Michel is hurt and could miss at least the first few weeks of the regular season. It’s said they aren’t the only other franchise who will be interested.
The analyst said he expects the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles to inquire about Peterson if they haven’t already.