The Adrian Peterson era in New Orleans lasted all of four games. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the veteran running back had been traded to the Arizona Cardinals.
Adrian Peterson was unhappy with #Saints role when 50-50 split with Mark Ingram became a 3-way share with Alvin Kamara draft and emergence
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 10, 2017
“I’m so ecstatic,” Peterson texted NFL Network’s Stacey Dales after the trade.
The Cardinals’ running game has been all but nonexistent since starter David Johnson broke his wrist in Week 1. Arizona is averaging only 20 rushing attempts per game, which ties it for the NFL low with the New York Giants, and its running backs are gaining an NFL-worst 2.6 yards per rush. The Cardinals’ offensive line certainly isn’t doing its part to clear a path:
Saints RBs this year have averaged 1.26 yards before contact/attempt.
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 10, 2017
Cardinals RBs have averaged 0.61; lowest in the league
Peterson ranks 16th on the NFL’s career rushing list with 11,828 yards and sits behind only the Indianapolis Colts’ Frank Gore among active players, but he played in only four games in the 2014 and 2016 seasons combined, the former because of a suspension over child-abuse charges and the latter because of knee injuries.
The Cardinals are getting Peterson on the cheap:
Low cost Adrian Peterson pick up for Cardinals. Only 2017 salary cap charge is $705,882 (12/17th of fully GTD $1M base salary).
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) October 10, 2017
The Cardinals will make room for Peterson by cutting another 32-year-old running back from their roster: Chris Johnson, who has started three games this season but is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry.
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