The running back market in free agency is finally starting to materialize. A few days ago, former Packer Eddie Lacy agreed to terms with the Seattle Seahawks. Late last night, the Minnesota Vikings signed Latavius Murray to a three-year deal.
Those deals have paved the way for the final, big domino to drop. Adrian Peterson is almost certainly not returning to the Vikings now that Murray has found his new home there. That means the seven-time Pro Bowler will, for the first time in his professional career, play on a different team. Reporter Jason La Canfora believes the Detroit Lions may be one of those teams:
With Lacy landing in Seattle and Murray landing in Minnesota, would keep an eye on OAK, DET as possible landing spots for AP at right price
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 16, 2017
This is not the first time this offseason that Peterson had been linked to the Lions. SiriusXM listed the Lions as a possible destination for Peterson a week ago. Notice, however, that both sources don’t directly indicate the Lions reaching out in some way.
Detroit is certainly in the market for a power running back, but there are a lot of questions whether Peterson still has that aspect of his game intact. He’s 31 years old now and has suffered several serious injuries lately. He had a successful season as recent as 2015 (1485 yards, 4.5 YPC), but his 2016 year was defined by another big injury.
We’ll see if the Lions’ interest is real as time rolls on, but at this point, there have been no direct links or visits scheduled between the two parties. Regardless, the rumors are heating up.