Were you surprised to wake up to the news that Washington had released veteran RB Adrian Peterson on Monday? You’re not alone.
According to AP, who was slotted to the be starting RB at age 35, the release came as a shock to him on Friday, especially after he had been taking all of the first-team reps throughout training camp. When talking to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Peterson said that he’d had a discussion with coach Ron Rivera on Thursday about getting more reps for the younger guys on the team, but he by no means thought that meant that he was being released.
Hall of Fame RB Adrian Peterson to me on Washington release: “It caught me by surprise. I was having a strong camp. It was showing up on film, taking #1 reps all the way to this week. I just got notified by the running backs coach yesterday that they want to give these…. [ 1/4]
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 4, 2020
[Cont] "..young guys some reps, but I didn’t know I was going to get cut, there was no indication. Today (Ron) Rivera just said this is always tough, but yes we’re gonna release you & go with this offensive style. I respect coach. Look (Antonio) Gibson is a hell of a talent…2/4
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 4, 2020
In the end, AP is taking this as the consummate professional that he has always been, and says that he respects Rivera for the tough decision that he had to make. He even went on to praise rookie RB Antonio Gibson, who will now step into the starting spot, saying that the offense is perfectly suited for him.
Going forward, there is surely going to be a team that will try to snatch AP up and get him on their offense. It won’t be long until Peterson is putting on another uniform and bulldozing through the front line once again.
