Washington Football Team star Adrian Peterson has a long list of accomplishments. From bouncing back and winning the NFL MVP after tearing his ACL in 2012, then ranking in the top five of all-time career rushing yards.
He has done it all, however, according to him, he is not even close to being done.
He explained in his press conference, “When you talk about the running back position because they like to kind of put us in this box of four or five years and then, typically, you’re out. To have a successful – what people will look at as successful, seven or eight years in the NFL, why not 15? Why not 18 years? It’s just me playing my role and trying to inspire our next generation.”
Training camp has been a great tool for Peterson to get a close look at that next generation of backs. The substantial amount of depth the Washington backfield has to offer this season has Peterson looking forward to the beginning of the season.
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“The running back room is incredible,” he said. “We have so much talent as far as Antonio Gibson, J.D. [McKissic] to Peyton [Barber] to Bryce [Love]. All these guys are unique in their own way. Just being out here seeing them go through this offense where it presents opportunities for a running back to make plays, and sometimes they have a couple of us out there at the same time. It’s exciting to see.”
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Peterson wants to prove to the doubters that he can still play at a high level in his mid-30s. One way to do that is by breaking Emmitt Smith’s all-time rushing record (18,355), which he’s already stated as his personal goal for the rest of his career.
Whether Peterson will break the all-time rushing record or not will remain to be seen, but if it happens, he and many Washington fans hope that he does it in the burgundy and gold.
It’s my second home,” Peterson said. “The fan base here is incredible. They show a lot of support. They remind me all the time how much they appreciate what I do when I’m out there on the field and how I play. I’m just enjoying it and embracing it. God willing, it’ll be five more years.”
Although the former MVP still has big goals to accomplish in his 15th year, he is still focused on teaching the younger running backs the keys to remaining in the league for a long time.
