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Honolulu Blue for AP; Bevell Reunion
#1


Adrian Peterson signing one-year contract with LionsAdrian Peterson is signing with the Detroit Lions, the running back told NFL reporter Josina Anderson on Sunday.

Peterson is signing a one-year, $1.05 million contract that includes incentives, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The move reunites Peterson with his former offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings, Darrell Bevell, and adds to an already crowded Lions backfield that includes Kerryon Johnson, last year's starter, and 2020 second-round pick D'Andre Swift.
"They're giving me an opportunity to play," Peterson, 35, told Anderson. "I know Coach Bevell from my days in Minnesota. Ultimately I feel comfortable going there and helping them to get better."
Peterson's move to Detroit comes days after Washington released him in favor of younger running backs. Now Peterson enters a room where four backs -- Bo ScarbroughTy Johnson, Kerryon Johnson and Swift -- are 23 or younger.
After his release, Peterson told ESPN's John Keim that he was surprised by Washington's decision and "without a doubt" wanted to continue playing. Peterson told Keim that based on what he showed in training camp, he can still contribute.
"We'll see what happens. ... Every new chapter is a blessing," Peterson said. "Whatever comes next, I'll be blessed to attack it. I can't be down on myself. I know it wasn't because of my ability or inabilities to do something. It came down to those guys making their decision."
Bevell coached Peterson at the beginning of his career. When the two were together with the Vikings from 2007 to 2010, Peterson rushed for at least 1,298 yards and 10 touchdowns each season. He made the Pro Bowl all four seasons they were together.
It has been a decade since they were last paired together, though, and Peterson has bounced around the NFL the past three seasons, playing in New OrleansArizona and Washington after 10 years with the Vikings.
Peterson has played in 164 games with 3,036 carries for 14,216 yards and 111 touchdowns. The seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro is fourth on the career rushing touchdowns list behind Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marcus Allen. He is fifth in career rushing yards behind Smith, Walter Payton, Frank Gore and Lions legend Barry Sanders, who is fourth with 15,269.
Sanders welcomed Peterson to the Lions in a tweet, writing "It will be great to have you in town."
Peterson will join an offense in which he might not be expected to handle a full workload.
"We always want a stable of backs," Lions general manager Bob Quinn said in April after the team drafted Swift. "I think I've said that for a long time. You can count on one hand how many backs kind of carry the load. There's not a lot of those guys walking around.
"I think we always need multiple backs. It's a position where guys get hit. They take a pounding. So we've just got to make sure we have good depth and guys that can go out there and make plays for us."
When the Lions were prepping to face Washington in 2019, Patricia was effusive in his praise of Peterson, showing his team a clip of a 90-yard Peterson touchdown run from 2018.
"The better backs or the veteran backs, they'll press that line of scrimmage longer," Patricia said of Peterson at the time. "They'll push that further up into where the offensive line blocks are occurring and then make their cuts or make their reads and do that more at the last second, and that becomes much more difficult. That's where you really see a guy like Adrian Peterson, who just feels so comfortable kind of getting all the way right there, and then he's going to make that cut and go. That's where he becomes really explosive, so that's kind of the danger part of what he does."
It's not immediately clear what the corresponding move will be for the Lions to make room for Peterson.
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#2
Guess he's going to try to pass Barry Sanders' record while wearing Lions' blue.
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#3
Good luck against everyone but the Vikings. Wish you best of luck against Green Bay.
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#4
The Detroit Lions are signing a future Hall of Famer to join their backfield, a guy who was a contemporary of the best wide receiver in team history, Calvin Johnson, and one who is chasing the career rushing yards total of the best player in franchise history, Barry Sanders.
But the Adrian Peterson the Detroit Lions are getting is not the in-his-prime version they once had to face twice a year with the Minnesota Vikings. The version they are getting is older. And more situational.
Peterson still is a talented back. Even at age 35, he should be able to offer the Lions something after rushing 462 times for 1,940 yards and 12 touchdowns during his two-year stint in Washington that ended with his release Friday.
A week ago, it looked like he was going to be on Washington’s roster and potentially a key contributor there until the franchise chose to go in a different direction with all younger backs.
What does Adrian Peterson have left? The Lions are counting on catching lightning in a bottle to bolster their stable of running backs. 
Now Peterson enters a room where every back is age 23 or younger. None have more than two years of experience entering this season. So at worst for the Lions, this ends up being another sort of mentorship for Kerryon Johnson and D'Andre Swift, the two backs Detroit expects to use the most this season.
The Lions always were going to use a running back by committee approach this season. It’s what coach Matt Patricia has long preferred and what he was used to from his days in New England. When the Lions drafted Swift in April, general manager Bob Quinn said they wanted to have multiple backs, and they would find uses for all of them.

View the Peterson signing with that in mind. He likely won’t interfere with what Swift will do for Detroit -- they are completely different in style, and Swift is more likely the pass-catching back, a skill set Peterson has, but with limited effectiveness.
Where Peterson could have an impact is on early downs and in short-yardage and goal-line scenarios. This could impact how Detroit uses Kerryon Johnson and either Scarbrough or Ty Johnson. Assuming the Lions are bringing in Peterson with a plan on how to use him -- and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has experience with Peterson from their four years together in Minnesota at the start of his career -- this could mean fewer carries for Kerryon Johnson and a completely diminished role for Scarbrough or Ty Johnson.
That could help Kerryon Johnson stay fresher throughout the season and mitigate some of his injury risk, too. Johnson has missed at least six games each season with knee injuries and now runs with a brace on his right knee.
Having Peterson to share that workload as he tries to gain the 1,053 yards necessary to tie Sanders for fourth all time in career yardage could potentially keep Johnson healthy for a full season for the first time in his career
https://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/...roit-lions
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#5
First game as a Lion...

93 yards Rushing
21 yards Receiving

Too bad the team collapsed in the 4th
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#6
Quote: @Nichelle said:
First game as a Lion...

93 yards Rushing
21 yards Receiving

Too bad the team collapsed in the 4th
Thats a damn good game from him...Remarkable. 
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#7
D'Andre Swift.....yikes....
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