Report  Saints trade Adrian Peterson to Arizona Cardinals, ending hyped stint in New Orleans   Saint
Channel: newly 10
Date: 2017-10-10

Report: Saints trade Adrian Peterson to Arizona Cardinals, ending hyped stint in New Orleans
Adrian Peterson's time in New Orleans will be nothing more than a small footnote in his career.

All the hype and expectations amounted to nothing more than him spending a couple of months in black and gold. And now that has come to an end with the running back being traded to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a conditional draft pick, according to an ESPN report.

New Orleans signed Peterson to a two-year deal, of which $3.25 million was guaranteed. The Saints will have a $1.25 million salary-cap charge for his signing bonus in 2018.

It was becoming hard to see where Peterson would fit in with the Saints. When he was initially signed, it was with the idea that he would serve a complementary piece to Mark Ingram. But New Orleans moved up in the draft to select Alvin Kamara, who has been one of the bright spots on offense, and his emergence made Peterson the odd man out in the Saints' crowded backfield.
Through four games, Peterson only received 27 carries and gained 81 yards. Ingram, meanwhile, has 170 yards on 42 carries and Kamara has gained 230 yards from scrimmage.

Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas recently stated that he believes Peterson still has the talent to perform well and it was only a matter of time before he got his chance to break through, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to see where Peterson would fit into the offense, barring an injury.

Perhaps the writing was on the wall when, last week, coach Sean Payton explained the difference between how the NFL and NBA offseasons work when discussing the backfield. It was also mentioned on last week's broadcast that the Saints prefer to operate with just two running backs as part of the game plan.
"It was put into plan in the beginning, and the difference between us and the NBA is that the NBA has a draft and then they follow it up with free agency and sign what they can’t draft," Payton said. "In our business, we have free agency first and then the draft. So I think it is a good group of running backs."

One of the things that Peterson said attracted him to New Orleans was the fact that he would have better opportunities to run the ball, and see better looks since the offense is more passing oriented. However, he had never shared carries before, and he struggled with the adjustment.

After a season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings, he said he understood his role, but he didn't sign up for "nine snaps." After a recent game against the Miami Dolphins, he said he still hadn't settled into his role but noted he was happy the team was winning games.

Peterson arrived here with much fanfare, both inside and outside of the team's facility. Many players marveled at his physical ability when he first arrived, but it never translated to the field in a way that was worthy of excitement.

And even when he received the opportunity to run with three receivers on the field, which cleared out the box and should have given him more running lanes to work with, he still struggled to make it count. He had 12 runs against spread looks during the first four games and only gained 26 yards.
The veteran running back had small moments through camp, but it was never sustained and did not show up in games. However, given that he's a volume runner, it remains possible that he simply did not fit into the Saints' timeshare and could perform better elsewhere.

Ingram and Kamara should continue to receive the bulk of the carries, with Kamara serving a dual-threat in both the running and passing games. Removing Peterson should clear up the jam and allow both players to become more involved in the offense moving forward.

Kamara has shown the ability that he should be fine carrying the load if Ingram goes down with an injury at any point, and the team likes what it has in undrafted rookie Trey Edmunds. New Orleans could also look to add another veteran back to serve as depth or add Daniel Lasco back to the 53-man roster.