Adrian Peterson‘s season is over, but his career is not. The veteran running back says that he’ll be back on the field in 2018. 
“The good news is my neck injury doesn’t require surgery, but I’m told by Dr. Robert Watkins that the best thing for me is just more rest than the length of the season. Obviously, I’m disappointed about going on IR when my body is still able to produce but I look forward to returning completely healthy for another season in 2018,” Peterson said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that the Arizona Cardinals have given me to show that I can still contribute on an NFL team.”
Peterson averaged just 3.5 yards per carry for the Cardinals, but he did show flashes of his old self on a couple of occasions. In his Cards debut, Peterson ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns off of 26 carries. A couple of weeks later, he racked up 159 rushing yards against the Niners.
Peterson remains under contract for one more season, but the Cardinals could instead release him and save $3.5MM against the cap. With David Johnson returning, the Cardinals will have to ask themselves whether it’s worthwhile to pay Peterson that much to serve as a backup. Even if they like the idea of Peterson as an insurance policy, it’s not a given that the veteran will be willing to come off of the bench.
The future Hall of Famer turns 33 in March.
Honestly its probably best if he’s used as a backup. Seems like a lot of teams are trying to use that tandem where one back is used heavily in the first half or so, and then the second back is featured much more because he’s fresh.