Adrian Peterson is set to enter his 14th season in the NFL, third with the Washington Redskins. With a new head coach and regime in Washington, the Redskins have revamped their running back group.
This offseason, they have added Peyton Barber and JD McKissic in free agency. Additionally, they drafted Antonio Gibson in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft. Gibson was primarily a wide receiver in college at Memphis, but the Redskins selected him to be a running back. In fact, Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner view Gibson as their DC version of Christian McCaffrey, the dynamic running back they had in Carolina.
The additions don’t include third-year running back Derrius Guice, who was set to be the lead back each of the last two seasons before injuries derailed him. And then there is Bryce Love, who missed all of his rookie season last year with a torn ACL suffered in his final collegiate game at Stanford.
If three’s a crowd, six is a community, right? Despite the crowded running back room, Peterson says that won’t stop him from reaching out and giving the younger backs advice.
“I’m not that guy that’s gonna withhold something to give myself an edge,” Peterson said during a Zoom video conference with Redskins beat writers. “A lot of these guys looked up to me, and still do, at a young age. So I’m going to do my part.”
Peterson led the Redskins in rushing each of the previous two seasons in large due to a lack of competition. Guice was injured and the Redskins lacked depth behind him. However, the 2020 season is expected to have much different dynamics.
Peterson understands that. He knows there’s a competition for snaps and he is ready to embrace the situation.
“I’ve always had the mindset of being open to competition,” Peterson said. “So I will embrace it the same way. People ask me that question all the time ‘Man, the Redskins are really packing that running back room, huh?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, they are.’ But hey just gotta execute and produce.”
