One year removed from being the starting running back for the Redskins, the 34-year-old veteran is expected to be inactive vs Eagles (pr Ian Rapoport).
Last year, Peterson had 1.042 yards rushing with a 4.2 yards per carry and 7 touchdowns. Next highest on the board for Washington was Chris Thompson with 178 yards. Peterson took a team that ranked as the 2nd worst in 2017 to 17th in 2018.
Rumors were flying around as early as this week that Gruden, in fact, didn’t want to keep Peterson, but disagreements within the organization made him stick to the 53:
Against the Eagles, Redskins will rely on second-round selection from last year in Derrius Guice, who the team has been talking highly of in preseason. He has not, however, taking a carry yet in the NFL, is coming off a torn ACL, and we are only a few weeks from him not being cleared for contact.
For a team that ranked as the 4th worst passing offense by PFF in 2018, which further has lost Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson, the running game should be the stable of their offense. Especially considering they have a new QB in town in Case Keenum, who might want to lean a bit on other players while getting comfortable with the offense.
Redskins are rolling with Chris Thompson and Wendell Smallwood as their backups. A weird call, considering these guys are nowhere close to your leading rusher from last year, who reportedly still is healthy.
Adrian Peterson had a 90-yard touchdown run in week 13 against the Eagles last year.
One less weapon for the Eagles to worry about.
