The Lions’ move to add Adrian Peterson to the roster following his release by Washington could have been taken as a negative by running back Kerryon Johnson, but he’s choosing to view it another way.
Johnson said it is “better to embrace” roster moves that you can’t control and said that he’s doing that in this case because Peterson “can help us win games” during the 2020 season. All that said, Johnson still finds it strange to be teammates with a player that he’s been watching for a long time.
“Quite frankly it’s weird,” Johnson said, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Just watching this dude for so long. He’s been doing this ever since he was in college -- the guy’s been great. He’s going to be a for-sure Hall-of-Famer and I get to sit next to him in meetings. And he’s trying to learn things from me and I’m trying to learn things from him. But I’m like, ‘What do I have to offer?’ You know what I’m saying? Just because he’s been there, done everything that I can say. So it’s very weird.”
One of the things Johnson says he wants to learn from Peterson is the secret to his longevity. Johnson has missed 14 games over his first two seasons, so anything he can do to stay on the field would be a welcome development for the 2018 second-round pick.