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Should the Arizona Cardinals pursue Adrian Peterson?

By Nick Ziegler

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The Arizona Cardinals had a very successful 2014 season by going 11-5 and making the playoffs, but they surely had their issues despite the good record.

During the Cardinals’ season, most of the attention was on the fact that they were finding ways to win games with a lot of injuries at the quarterback position. With the injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, you would think that it was the running game picking up the slack, but instead it was mostly the defense and special teams keeping them in games.

Shockingly the Cardinals were the second-worst rushing team in the NFL last season, only better the dreadful Oakland Raiders. The Cardinals were worse than the Raiders in yards per carry, as they averaged just 3.3 YPC for the season, which was the worst in the NFL.

Andre Ellington came into the season with a lot of expectations, as in his rookie season he had 652 rushing yards on just 118 carries for a great 5.5 YPC. In 2014, Ellington’s production went way down, as he had just 660 yards on 218 carries, as he saw his yards per carry drop to 3.3. With Ellington’s increased workload last season, he did break down, as he battled a split tendon in his foot, and then had his season ended early with a hernia. The Cardinals do like Ellington’s skill, but his durability is very much a question.

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“From a skill standpoint, I do,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said, via ArizonaSports.com’s Vince Marotta. “When I went back and looked at some of the cut-ups, you can’t deny his skills — his feet, his acceleration — he’s got dynamic skills and game-changing speed. That being said, it remains to be seen whether he can stay healthy for a full season. To me, that’s why this offseason is so big for him. He’s got to get bigger and stronger in the weight room and he’s got to prove he can stay healthy through a full 16-game season.”

The Cardinals most recently were able to restructure wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s contract, which will save them more money to improve in areas of need. One of those areas on need is running back, and an already strong free agent running back class could be getting even stronger.

According to CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora, the relationship between the Minnesota Vikings and running back Adrian Peterson hasn’t recently took a major turn for the worse. During the NFL Combine, Peterson’s agent and Vikings’ Vice President of Operations Rob Brzezinski got into an altercation about Peterson.

“He will never play another game for the Vikings,” said someone close to Peterson to La Canfora. “It’s over.”

Feb 6, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson autographs a dollar bill as he leaves the U.S. District Courthouse with his wife Ashley Brown Peterson as the NFL Players Association

With Peterson’s time in Minnesota looking like it’s over, that will instantly make him one of the best running back free agents along with DeMarco Murray. In Peterson’s eight seasons in the NFL he has rushed for 10,190 yards, and was widely regarded as the best running back in football before his off-the-field issues.

Peterson isn’t far removed from his best season in the NFL, as in 2012 he rushed for 2,097 yards nearly breaking the single-season record.

If Peterson does become available, he will be highly sought after by man teams, but the Cardinals on paper look to be a great fit. The Cardinals have money to offer Peterson, and they also can offer an opportunity to play in the playoffs, which is something that Peterson has only done in three seasons.

Next: Was keeping Larry Fitzgerald good for the Arizona Cardinals?

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