After 15 straight years of running back Adrian Peterson in the NFL, 2022 was a season with him. Not only was he not playing football in 2022, he was actually participating in another sport, boxing another former NFL running back in Le’Veon Bell. Despite not appearing in a game last year and having just turned 38 years old, Peterson is not quite ready to officially hang up his cleats, according to Clarence E Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Many assumed that a torn meniscus and sprained LCL that limited him to three games in 2016 was the beginning of the end for Peterson. He had undoubtedly been an all-time great running back over the first 10 years of his career, but running back careers notoriously do not last long and a season-ending injury in a contract year didn’t bode well for the then-31-year-old.

After a down 2017 season that saw him bounce from the Saints to the Cardinals, Peterson showed that he still had plenty of tread on the tires with a couple strong seasons in Washington. He was no longer a threat to lead the league in rushing yards, as he had done three times before, but he surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards during both of his seasons in DC.

Peterson struggled for a bit in 2021 as the Lions’ leading rusher and then tried to stick on the Titans’ and Seahawks’ rosters the following year with little success. Inching closer to 40 years old while declining in production was making it hard to keep one of the NFL’s greatest career rushing performances going.

Just after the 2021 season, Peterson was arrested for a domestic violence incident but didn’t end up facing charges. Reports from both him and his wife declined that there was any physical violence, but the incident still may have played a factor in his struggles to find a roster spot this past season.

At the boxing match with Bell, Peterson addressed his future, claiming that boxing may be his way forward but that he was “waiting for that next opportunity to present itself.” He teased a retirement announcement in March but, ultimately, decided that no announcement will be made this season.

“Mentallly, I haven’t officially hung it up,” Peterson told the media. We’ll see what happens. My mindset is, if God’s willing, maybe an opportunity presents itself, and maybe it happens this season…but (if) nothing happens this season, for sure, I will be hanging it up.”

Statistically, Peterson is currently fifth all-time in rushing yards. 82 more yards will push him over the 15,000-rushing yards mark. He would need only 351 yards to pass Barry Sanders for fourth all-time, but he would need 1,082 to reach Frank Gore‘s 16,000 and nearly 3,500 more to top the list altogether. That’s certainly some incentive to return for at least one more season, but if not, Peterson’s likely Hall of Fame career is nothing to scoff at.

There has been an update to the incident involving free agent running back Adrian Peterson earlier this week. As detailed in an ESPN report, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is not pressing felony charges. 

[Related: Adrian Peterson Arrested On Domestic Violence Charge]

The case will now be examined by the Los Angeles City Attorney, who could still bring forth a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The incident between Peterson, 36, and his wife occurred Sunday before a flight was set to take off from Los Angeles to Houston. Peterson was removed from the flight before takeoff, and all other passengers landed in Houston without further issue.

In response to the arrest, Peterson said, “Me and the wife got into an argument on the plane. That was pretty much the gist of it. I ended up grabbing her hand and taking her ring off her finger… We just had a disagreement”. He also reiterated that his wife, Ashley, is not pressing charges.

Ashley also said in an Instagram post, “On Sunday, Adrian and I had a verbal argument. Unfortunately it was on an airplane. At no point did Adrian hit or strike me. This is a private matter between my husband and myself. We ask that everyone respect our privacy”.

Peterson appeared in four games in 2021, suiting up for the Titans and Seahawks. He currently ranks fifth all time in rushing yards; if he does play next season, as he intends, he will likely eclipse the 15,000 yard plateau.

Free agent running back Adrian Peterson was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday on a felony domestic violence charge. As The Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala writes, the incident took place in the morning onboard an airplane flying to Houston. 

According to a statement from the Los Angeles Airport Police, they were called to respond to “a verbal and physical altercation between a male suspect and a female victim”, later identified as Peterson and his wife. Peterson was removed from the plane before it took off, and his wife and the other passengers completed the flight without further issue.

A representative for Peterson released a statement which reads in part, “this is a private misunderstanding between husband and wife and we anticipate it will all be resolved shortly”. Peterson was taken into custody with a $50K bail and released on bond later in the day. ESPN’s John Keim adds that his wife “was not going to press charges”. Peterson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge committed against his then-four-year-old son in 2014.

The 36-year-old continued his career by signing with the Titans midseason, after they lost Derrick Henry to injury. Not long after, he found himself in Seattle, though he only appeared in four total games in 2021. The former league MVP has bounced around to six teams since his illustrious tenure in Minnesota. Just shy of 15,000 career rushing yards, which ranks him fifth all time, he intends to play in 2022.