Redskins exercise 2020 club option on RB Adrian Peterson
There’s at least one thing the Washington Redskins won’t be changing before the start of the 2020 season: their leading rusher.
Washington announced on Wednesday that they’re exercising the option on running back Adrian Peterson’s contract, meaning he’ll return to the team in 2020 for his 14th NFL season.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Peterson is set to make $2.5 million in 2020, with an additional $1.5 million in incentives. It’s not guaranteed that he’ll make the team out of training camp.
The continued career of Peterson, who will be 35 in late March, is incredible considering where he was just a few years ago. Following the end of his 10-season tenure with the Minnesota Vikings, he looked like a shadow of his former self in 2017, rushing for just 529 yards while playing for both the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. It seemed like his productive days were behind him.
Washington took a flier on Peterson in 2018 and it paid off. He replaced Derrius Guice, who was injured in the preseason, and turned in his eighth season with over 1,000 rushing yards. That earned him a one-year contract in 2019 (with an option for 2020), during which he again replaced an injured Guice and rushed for a team-high 898 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Peterson was a team captain in 2019, and his work ethic already impressed his new head coach.
“Adrian Peterson is the epitome of what it means to be a pro in this league,” head coach Ron Rivera said in a team statement. “Adrian's leadership and passion towards the game of football will set an example of what is expected of the players in this program moving forward.”
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