Vikings' Adrian Peterson unsure how many years he has left
Adrian Peterson had trouble sleeping Tuesday night.
The Vikings’ star running back is raring to go heading into his 10th NFL season, which begins Sunday against the Titans in Nashville (noon, WZTV-17).
“It was kind of like the first day of school, coming in today,” Peterson said, “because that’s really when the week starts, on Wednesday. So I’ve been wired up and I’ll be ready to roll Sunday.”
But the 31-year-old says he’s unsure how much longer he’ll want to play.
“I feel I can play until I’m just ready to hang it up, honestly,” Peterson said. “Who knows? That might be five more years. That might be seven. It might be two. Who knows? I figure it all depends on how passionate I am and the love that I have for the game. I’m getting older now. My kids are getting older and things like that. I’m missing out on a lot. I don’t know. Only time will tell.”
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Former Titans tight end Craig Stevens, a father of two who was the longest-tenured member of the team, retired during training camp because, entering his ninth season, his heart was no longer in the game.
Peterson, a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, has the third-most rushing attempts (2,381), second-most rushing yards (11,675) and most touchdowns (97) of any active NFL player.
With nine touchdowns, he'll pass Jim Brown for fifth all-time. He needs 14 to pass Walter Payton for fourth. Emmitt Smith owns the record with 164 scores.
A 1,000-yard season will catapult him from 27th in rushing yards to fifth.
Peterson said he’s refocused after a missed field goal ended the Vikings’ season in the first round of the playoffs, and he's eager to get this season started.
“For me it’s been a long time coming, with OTAs, training camp and then you’ve got four weeks of preseason. It was just like, ‘ugh.’ It was so hard just sitting there, traveling and knowing that you’re not playing. So to finally have the season here in front of me, I’m pretty pumped up.”
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