Photos of new Saints running back Adrian Peterson.
ADRIAN PETERSON RB No. 28
HEIGHT: 6-1 WEIGHT: 220
COLLEGE: OKLAHOMA
JOINED SAINTS: UFA-17 (MIN)
NFL EXPERIENCE: 11
BORN: 3/21/85
NFL CAREER – A four-time first-team All-Pro, seven time Pro Bowler and the NFL's 2012 Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year, Peterson joins the Saints after 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings that saw him accumulate 11,747 rushing yards, the 16th-highest total in league history. Winning the rushing title in 2008, 2012 and 2015, the former Oklahoma standout returned from a knee injury suffered in Week 16 of the 2011 season to rush for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns on 348 attempts in 2012, coming just nine yards short of surpassing Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record set in 1984 (2,105). He would be named the league's MVP and Offensive Player of the Year following the season. Over his 10-year career, he has rushed for at least 1,000 yards seven times and has rushed for at least 10 touchdowns eight times, including a career-high 18 rushing scores in 2009. The Palestine, Texas native has started 116-of-123 career games, totaling 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns on 2,418 attempts while adding 1,945 yards and five touchdowns on 241 receptions.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS – Agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints on a two-year contract, 4/25/17; Fifth-year option declined by Vikings, 2/28/17; Activated by Vikings from Injured Reserve, 12/17/16; Placed by Vikings on Injured Reserve, 9/23/16; Placed by Vikings on Injured Reserve, 12/26/11; Signed by Vikings to a six-year contract extension, 9/10/11; Signed by Vikings to a five-year contract, 7/30/07; Selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
HONORS – 2015:Associated Press first-team All-Pro; FedEx Ground Player of the Year; Pro Bowl starter; NFC Offensive Player of the Month (November); FedEx Ground Player of the Week (Weeks 10 and 12). 2013: AP *Second-team All-Pro; Pro Bowl; FedEx Ground Player of the Week (Weeks 4 and 13); Vikings Offensive MVP. 2012: *AP NFL MVP; AP *NFL Offensive Player of the Year; *AP first-team All-Pro; Pro Bowl starter; Bert Bell Player of the Year (Maxwell Club); FedEx Ground Player of the Week (Week 7); Vikings Offensive MVP. 2011: NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 5); FedEx Ground Player of the Week (Week 5). 2010: Pro Bowl; Vikings Offensive MVP; 50 Greatest Vikings team.2009:AP first-team All-Pro; Pro Bowl starter; NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 10).2008:AP first-team All-Pro; Pro Bowl starter; NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 10); Bert Bell Player of the Year Award winner by Maxwell Club; Named Vikings Offensive MVP.2007:AP second-team All-Pro; Pro Bowl starter; Pro Bowl MVP; AP Offensive Rookie of the Year; Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year; Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team; NFL Rookie of the Month (September and October); NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Weeks 6 and 9); FedEx Ground Player of the Week (Weeks 6 and 9); Vikings Offensive MVP.
2016 –Appeared in just three games throughout the season, all starts, missing much of the year with a knee injury, totaling 72 yards on 37 carries and adding eight yards on three receptions…Rushed for 19 yards on 12 carries vs. Green Bay, Sept. 18, adding seven yards on two receptions. 2015 –Led NFL in rushing for the third time in his career, posting 1,485 yards on the ground...Earned consensus first-team All-Pro honors and selected to Pro Bowl...Named FedEx Ground Player of the Year...Ran for season-best 203 yards at Oakland, Nov. 15, his sixth career game over the 200-yard plateau, tied with O.J. Simpson for the most in NFL history...His 1,485 yards is the third-highest mark of his career and the fourth-best single-season mark in Vikings history...Broke the 100-yard mark in seven games, the fourth-best total in Vikings history...Tied for NFL lead with 11 rushing TDs...Ranked third in NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 1,707 (1,485 rushing, 222 receiving)…Rushed for 158 yards with two touchdowns on 29 attempts at Atlanta, Nov. 29. 2014 –Played in one game during the season due to being placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List along with a suspension...At Rams, Sept. 7 and rushed for 75 yards on 21 carries and caught two passes for 18 yards. 2013 –Earned second-team Associated Press All-Pro honors, his fifth time being first or second-team in his seven-year career...Selected to Pro Bowl but did not play due to injury...Ran for 1,000 yards for sixth time in his seven seasons...Notched seventh straight season with 10 rushing TDs... Took the first offensive play of the season for the Vikings for a 78-yard TD run at Detroit, Sept. 8, matching Robert Smith's team record for longest opening-day run and setting an NFL record for the longest TD run on a player's first carry in a season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger...Tied career-high with three TDs in season opener at Detroit, scoring two rushing TDs and one receiving score…Rushed for 100 yards on 26 carries at Chicago, Sept. 15… Notched a pair of rushing TDs and ran for 140 yards in International Series game vs. Pittsburgh, Sept. 29 in London's Wembley Stadium, scoring on runs of 60 and seven yards...Rushed for 75 yards and two scores vs. Washington, Nov. 7…Accumulated 140 yards rushing and one rushing score at Dallas, Nov. 3…Had 146 yards at Green Bay, Nov. 24 and notched a rushing TD…Set career-high with 35 carries vs. Chicago, Dec. 1 and a season-high 211 yards rushing, fifth career game with 200 yards...Surpassed 10,000 career rushing yards. 2012 –Earned NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Pro honors by Associated Press following offseason knee surgery...Became only the third Vikings player to take home NFL MVP, joining Alan Page in 1971 and Fran Tarkenton in 1975...Ran for 2,097 yards, the second-best mark in NFL history behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 in 1984...Tied his own team record with 10 games of 100 yards on the season and two games of 200 on the season...Matched NFL record held by Earl Campbell in 1980 with seven games with 150 yards...Tied NFL record with seven runs of 50 yards on the season, matching Barry Sanders in 1997... Broke team career rushing yards mark in opener vs. Jacksonville, Sept. 9, rushing for 84 yards and two TDs on 17 carries...Set NFL record for rushing yards in a month when he amassed 861 yards in December...Posted career-long 82-yard TD run twice, at Green Bay, Dec.2 and at Rams, Dec. 16…Rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts (10.7 avg.) at Seattle, Nov. 4…Carried it 21 times for 210 yards (10.0 avg.) and one touchdown at Green Bay, Dec. 2…Rushed for 212 yards and one score at St. Louis, Dec. 16…Closed the season with a 199-yard performance vs. Green Bay, Dec. 30, adding one touchdown on 34 attempts…Rushed for 99 yards on 22 carries in the Wild Card matchup at Green Bay, 1/5/13. 2011 –Ran for 970 yards in 12 games...Broke the Vikings career rushing TDs record vs. Tampa Bay, Sept. 18 with his 53rd career score on a one-yard run in the first quarter...Missed three games following ankle injury suffered vs. Oakland, Nov. 20...Season cut short by knee injury at Washington, Dec. 24, going on injured reserve, Dec. 26...Ended with 12 rushing TDs, giving him 64 career...Ranked third in NFL with 12 rushing TDs...Broke 100-yard mark three times during, moving career total to 27...Tied team record and career-best with three rushing TDs vs. Arizona, Oct. 9 in season's first win. Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Ground Player of the Week vs. Arizona...Posted season-best 175 yards rushing vs. Green Bay, Oct. 23.2010 –Earned fourth Pro Bowl trip. Rushed for 1,298 yards, the sixth-best total in team history...Tied for Vikings career rushing TDs record with 52, matching total of Chuck Foreman and Bill Brown...Tied for the fifth-best mark in Vikings history with 12 rushing TDs...Notched career-long rush with 80-yard TD burst vs. Detroit, Sept. 26. Totaled 160 yards on the day, adding two touchdowns on 23 carries...Moved into third place in team history for career rushing yards with 5,782...Had five games with 100 yards rushing, giving him 24 games over the 100-yard mark for career...Notched fourth career three-rushing TD game vs. Buffalo, Dec. 5...Had a streak of 350 offensive touches without a fumble (11/29/09-12/28/10), the second-longest streak in Vikings history. 2009 –Earned First-Team Associated Press All-Pro and selected to the Pro Bowl...Set Vikings record with 18 rushing TDs and led all NFL non-kickers in scoring...Posted the fourth-highest single-season rushing total in team history...Teamed with Sidney Rice to form the NFC's top rushing-receiving tandem with a combined 2,695 yards (1,383 rushing/1,312 receiving)... Moved into tie for third in team history with 40 career rushing TDs...Moved into second in Vikings history with 19 career 100-yard rushing games...Ranked second in NFC in rushing yards...Had career-best 43 receptions for 436 yards... Set a Vikings opening-day record with 180 yards rushing at Cleveland, Sept. 13, rushing for three touchdowns on 25 attempts…Rushed for 143 yards on 22 carries vs. Baltimore, Oct. 18…In the team's Divisional Round contest vs. Dallas, 1/17/10, carried it 26 times for 63 yards…Ran for three TDs to set a team playoff record and tied a team playoff record with three total TDs with his performance at New Orleans, 1/24/10 in NFC Championship game...His 122 rushing yards at New Orleans are the third most in a playoff game in Vikings history. 2008 –Led NFL in rushing and set a then-Vikings single-season record with 1,760 yards, becoming the first Vikings RB to lead the League in rushing…Recognized by Maxwell Club with the Bert Bell Player of the Year, First-Team Associated Press All-Pro honoree, Pro Bowl starter and voted by teammates as Vikings Offensive MVP...Tied for second in AP voting for Offensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in polling for NFL MVP…Set Vikings record with 10 games over the 100-yard mark…Set team record for rushing attempts with 363, breaking the old record held by Chester Taylor in 2006 by 60 carries…Set then-Vikings record for yards rushing per game at 110.0…Rushed for 160 yards on 29 attempts vs. Indianapolis, Sept. 14…Carried it 25 times for 139 yards and one touchdown vs. Houston, Nov. 2, earning FedEx Ground Player of the Week honors…Ran for 192 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries vs. Green Bay, Nov. 9. Named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance along with FedEx Ground Player of the Week…Earned FedEx Ground Player of the Week honors again at Arizona, Dec. 14 after rushing for 165 yards on 28 rushing attempts…In the team's Wild Card Round game vs. Philadelphia, 1/4/09, rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. 2007 –Burst onto the NFL scene with record-breaking rookie season…Earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors from AP and Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year…Named a starter in the Pro Bowl and earned MVP of the game...Led the NFC with 1,341 rushing yards, ranked second in the NFL and had fifth-best single season in Vikings history, second-best at the time…Set an NFL single-game record with 296 rushing yards vs. Chargers, Nov. 4, breaking the old record of 295 (Jamal Lewis)…Set the #1 and #2 single-game rushing totals in Vikings history vs. San Diego (296) and 224 at Chicago, Oct. 14…Teamed with Taylor to set a Vikings record for combined rushing yards with 2,185…Vikings set team rushing record with 2,634 yards and helped team rank first in NFL in rushing…Led the NFL in rushing yards per game with 95.8…Set then-Vikings record with an average of 5.6 yards per carry…Set then-Vikings record with four rushes of 50 yards during the season and tied a Vikings record with seven plays of 50 yards (4 runs, 1 reception, 2 kickoff returns)…Notched his first 100-yard rushing game in his first career game, rushing for 103 yards on 19 carries vs. Atlanta, Sept. 9.
COLLEGE –A three-time All-Big 12 First-Team honoree...2004 Heisman Trophy runner-up...2004 AP First-Team All-America, the first Oklahoma true freshman to earn the honor and the first true freshman on the team since 1996 (Dre Bly)...Played 31 games over three seasons with the Sooners...Set the school record with 1,925 yards as a freshman in 2004, breaking Billy Sims' record of 1,896 in 1978... Broke Ron Dayne's NCAA freshman rushing record...Ranks third in OU history with 4,045 yards and fourth with 41 rushing TDs... The only OU RBs with more career yards are Billy Sims and Joe Washington...Broke the 100-yard mark 22 times in 31 games…Majored in sociology.
PERSONAL –The consensus National Player of the Year as a senior at Palestine (Texas) HS...Broke 2,000-yard mark as a junior and senior, going for 2,051 with 22 TDs as a junior and 2,960 with 32 TDs as a senior...Named to U.S. Army All-America Game and given Hall Trophy as Army National Player of the Year...Competed in basketball and track and field...Finished second in the 100m at state meet…Owns O Athletik, a 35,000-square foot gym, where he trains in the offseason, in Houston...Has taken mission trips to Africa in recent offseasons, working with Starkey Hearing to provide hearing aids to the disadvantaged, joining other NFL stars on the trips...Works with youth through his All Day Foundation, with the motto "Giving Back Every Day, All Day"...Comes from an athletic family as mother, Bonita Jackson, was a track and field star and father, Nelson Peterson, was a collegiate basketball player at Idaho State...His uncle, Ivory Lee Brown, was an NFL player and suited up for the Vikings in 1993...Born Adrian Lewis Peterson on March 21, 1985.