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The man who has long been a thorn in the Detroit Lions side is finally changing allegiances. According to several sources—first reported by Josina Anderson—the Lions are signing veteran running back Adrian Peterson to a one-year deal.
Peterson will reunite with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was his first coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings way back in 2007. He immediately comes in and will contend for the power back role, which appears to be currently held by Bo Scarbrough. At this point, there has been no corresponding move announced, so it’s unclear if Scarbrough’s job is safe.
Though he’s 35 years old, Peterson is coming off a somewhat successful year in Washington. He rushed for 898 yards (4.3 YPC) and five touchdowns.
How he’ll fit in the rotation with second-round pick D’Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson remains to be seen, but for now, the Lions got themselves a pretty talented running back that gives their rushing attack a new dimension.
UPDATE: Adam Schefter has the contract details:
Compensation update I: New Lions’ RB Adrian Peterson is signing a one-year, $1,050,000 deal, plus incentives with Detroit, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 6, 2020
UPDATE 2: Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the incentives make this deal worth up to $2.3 million.