Kansas City Chiefs need to sign Adrian Peterson

Who to cut

With the departures of Ware and LeSean McCoy, the presence of a veteran in the running back room and on the field could be extremely valuable. Now, in a perfect world, the Chiefs could sign Peterson and no one would have to lose their job to make room for him.

Unfortunately, the NFL has a rule regarding 53-man rosters, so in order to make a space for Peterson, someone has to be cut. If I am forced to play GM here, then I’m afraid I would have to go with the cutting of Darwin Thompson.

Thompson is great and he has already served the Chiefs well in his single season on the team, but he seems to be at his most useful when put in short yardage situations where he can slip and slide through defenders for a few yards.

Peterson would be doing the same thing, and at 6’1″ and 220 pounds, he has the size and power to go for much more if the defense makes the fatal mistake of giving him an inch. This is in no way an indictment on Thompson, but there is no substitute for experience, and Peterson has been pounding the rock in the NFL since 2007.

In short, Peterson would bring to the team exactly what Thompson does already, but with size, power, skill, and years of experience to go with it and would do nothing but compliment Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Cost for the Chiefs

Now I know what you’re thinking, “The Chiefs just sold the family farm so they could pay Mahomes, Jones and Kelce. They can’t afford to throw money at a 35-year old running back” but Peterson not being the same player, but rather a grizzled vet, is exactly why the Chiefs can afford him.

In 2018, Peterson signed a Veteran Minimum contract with Washington, then in 2019 he signed an $8 million contract. Had he been traded to the Chiefs, they would have inherited what was left on his contract, but since he was cut, that is not the case.

The Chiefs could possibly sign Peterson to a contract similar to his 2018 veteran minimum that he signed with Washington, or if he demanded more, perhaps the Chiefs could go up to around $3-5 million. That total is doubtful, as the Chiefs potentially only need Peterson for one year.