What does veteran RB Adrian Peterson bring to the Seahawks?
Dec 3, 2021, 1:30 PM
(Silas Walker/Getty Images)
With the 3-8 Seahawks struggling to get anything going in the running game in recent weeks, the team turned to a big name to try and give the offense a spark.
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That player? Future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson, a four-time All-Pro and the fifth-leading rusher in NFL history who is 36 years old.
Head coach called signing Peterson a “win-now” move while Peterson told reporters that he’s playing for “the love of the game,” and because he feels he can still compete at a very high level. He also said his goal is to win a Super Bowl, which is the lone thing missing from his NFL resume.
While it’s unlikely that Peterson’s Super Bowl goals will be fulfilled with the Seahawks in 2021 as the team needs to win out over its final six games in order to even finish above .500, there is a chance he can have a nice impact for Seattle.
Former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps shared what he thinks of the Seahawks’ move to sign Peterson during Thursday’s edition of Jake and Stacy on 710 ESPN Seattle.
“He can bring hard-nose running to this group,” Heaps said.
Heaps said that Alex Collins, who has been the Seahawks’ lead back with Chris Carson out for the season, is a “very good runner,” but that he’s a “one-cut guy” who would probably be better in a different system than what Seattle runs.
“I think Alex Collins could do well in the San Francisco 49ers’ running scheme. I think he’s a good capable back. But the thing that he’s not that I’ve said from Day 1 in this whole conversation is he’s not a guy that creates when there is nothing there,” Heaps said. “He is not a guy that gets the extra dirty yards, and is falling forward when contact happens.”
That’s what Peterson, even at 36 years old, still has the ability to do, Heaps said.
“Adrian Peterson, even at 36 years old, runs with a style that is forward leaning,” he said. “He has the capability of picking up hard dirty yards. Now he’s not as good at it as he once was, but that is something that I think he brings to the table and brings to this offense that you haven’t had.”
Heaps admitted that he doesn’t “love the signing” as it’s “more of a reflection of what it means for your team and your roster in the current running back group that you have” because Seattle’s other backs are all ones who were drafted and developed early on by the Seahawks in recent years.
“But I do believe that Adrian Peterson will be an upgrade and is a good addition from a talent acquisition standpoint,” he said. “It’s just not an amazing acquisition that’s all of a sudden going to elevate the run game to great new heights.”
Listen to the second hour of Thursday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.
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