PFT: Is Adrian Peterson’s decline near?

Posted by Scott Dargis on May 26, 2014, 8:30 PM EDT

With Adrian Peterson entering his eighth year in the league and approaching the age of 30, it’s fair to wonder if a decline is in store for the All-Pro running back. Erik Kuselias and Mike Florio discuss.

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23 responses to “PFT: Is Adrian Peterson’s decline near?”

  3. It’s a fair question . He probably has a couple of good years left ( good by his standard ) . However, I believe that is about it . Unless Bridgewater is an instant success and can take a substantial load off of him, his career is nearing an end

  4. teams are always changing…

    sometimes they need a QB, other times better secondary, better O line etc…

    just because a RB is all world like AP is, at SOME point, if the rest of the team around him isn’t worth it, it automatically becomes NOT worth paying and having him as it’s a waste for him and the team.

    But that isn’t just the Vikes and AP, this happens over and over in sports, MLB and NBA too…

    It’s all about roster construction and who panned out via the draft, who really improved from their 1st to 2nd yr and 2nd to 3rd years etc…

    The Houston Astros don’t need a $20 million a year pitcher right now on a 5 yr contract for $100 million. They’d still be a last place team…

  5. Here is the best part, Peterson’s best season was 2 years ago and in true Viking fashion, his contract is loaded as he nears the end so as his production slides, the Vikings are on the hook for huge cap hits all the way to the end.

    But the Vikings have plenty of experience in that regard, they paid BrINT Favre over $17 million to miss games for the first time in his career, they paid Jared Allen $17 million to take games off, and they paid Craig Jennings and Berriman to be 2nd tier WR’s for top money. You can’t finish in last place with doing just a couple of things wrong, the Vikings excel at messing up all over the place, salary cap management, missing on 1st round QB’s, signing the wrong FA’s and drafting career criminals.

  6. It’s a shame that Peterson never had the supporting cast required to do great things. He couldn’t do it by himself. He plays a position that is important, it’s just not the most important. I honestly wish he had broken the rushing record. He deserved it. That was his mountain, and he’ll never climb anywhere near the top again.

  7. He could have been traded for multiple players/draft picks to upgrade the roster and the cap money saved used on free agents.

    Instead they overpaid him and made him untradable.

    They wasted their chances and remain a last place team.

    Bad franchises keep making mistakes, have limited creativity, and don’t plan ahead.

    Peterson’s career won’t be remembered well because he so seldom played on national television.

  8. In Walter Payton’s 7th season, he recorded the lowest yardage total and YPC average since his rookie year. He followed that with an injury-shortened season that failed to break 600 yards. The same question was raised of him at that time. He responded with nearly 6000 yards in the next four seasons.

    In Emmitt Smith’s 7th season, he recorded his lowest yardage total since his rookie year and the lowest YPC of his career. He followed that with a season that barely topped 1000 yards. The same question was raised of him at that time. He responded with nearly 5000 yards in his next four seasons.

    Is there any doubt that Adrian Peterson belongs in the same conversation with these two backs? He works as hard as anyone in the league to stay on top of his game. I think that there are several more excellent years in his future. Will this yield the ultimate team glory that Payton and Smith enjoyed? Probably not. This team still has a long way to go, and even teams that are set up to be successful still face a tough battle that is as much about luck as anything else. But individually, I don’t think he can be counted out yet.

  9. Heck yeah hes a good running back but yes hes starting to show a decline within 5 years he probably want be playing anymore if the vikings were smart they would try and see if anybody was dumb enough to give them a bunch of picks for him rspecially a team that needs a special back but not super special how he use to be to bad he plays for the vikings and want ever get a ring if he played for the packers hed prolly have at least 1 maybe 2 by now

  10. He hasn’t shown any signs of decline, yet. Even if he does start to decline and slow down, Peterson at 75% of his peak, is still probably a top 5 back in the NFL, and still the best back in the NFCN.

  14. AP will not be remembered? You couldn’t get out of bed without AP and Vikings to check in on. Remembered, he is ingrained in the back of your skull just like all the Viking fans.

    AP will dedicate the second half of his career into proving talking heads wrong. AP is a beast and when you fall asleep tonight he will be your last thought.

  16. He carries the team with eight in the box on every play. Think of what he could do in Philly.

  17. Uninformed opinion is all this is. Peterson is every bit as good if not better than he was earlier in his career. He is a much better blocker, he runs harder and smarter. He played with nagging injuries that would sideline most players. He easily has 4 top years before you even have to look at limiting his carries. Would a passing game help, absolutely. It would be awesome to see Adrian against a 7 man front instead of 8 or 9. I look for next year to be a breakout year for MN. The article should have been about GB and whether Rogers is close to done. He missed 6 1/2 games last year and will probably miss more this year. Cutler missed a bunch as well. There is a reason why 8-7-1 was enough to win the division. The only team with an up and coming potential star at QB is MN. GB’s run is about over.

  18. first year with team Norv Turner took the Cleveland passing game from 29th in NFL to 11th in NFLwith tope production from Wide out in the NFL Josh (I get high x 2) Gordon and 2nd most in yards TE in Jordan Cameron… Minnesota has in my opinion better pieces in play with Greg Jennings and Kyle Rudolph so yeah get ready to seea whole new world folks… not to mention Norv Tuners passing attack will flourish even more because the NFL requires teams that play AD AP to put 8 of them biscuits in the basket…. HAHA yeah Minnesotas offense is about to get crazy scary….

  19. Yes, perhaps we should be talking about the fact that Rodgers’ comp%, TD/INT ration, and QB rating have been declining steadily over the last 3 years. Perhaps this has something to do with the aging and thinning of his WR corps, or maybe it is just his age and the cumulative effect of getting thrown to the turf so often…..

    Would any Packer Backers like to comment on this?

  20. Just keep fueling him media and fan haters. He’s going to go for 2k again this year if he plays 16 games.

  21. I don’t want 5 or 6 other RBs. Having 5 or 6 other RBs doesn’t give you the exceptional positional advantage that Adrian gives you. He’s absolutely worth it. The Vikings are not strapped for the cap. He’s 29 years old. He’s earned his keep. This dude just strapped an entire team on his back, and carried them into the postseason 2 years ago with no help! Things Jay Cutler and Matt Stafford don’t do at twice the price with Brandon Marshal, Alshon Jeffrey, and Calvin Johnson. Why don’t you go bark up their contract trees?

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