Oct 28, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos. © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.
Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos has played 109 games in his seven-year career, and 13% of those matchups have been versus the Minnesota Vikings.
Early on, then a member of the Chicago Bears, Amos saw enough of former Viking Adrian Peterson to now nominate the man as the ‘best ever’ among running backs.
Amos later tweeted, “I played him in 2015 with the Vikings, and he was the hardest to tackle then, too.”
The follow-up tweet is noteworthy because Peterson was 30 years old in 2015. And at age 30, running backs shouldn’t be terrors in bringing to the ground. But Peterson was the exception, leading the NFL in rushing at age 30 in 2015, his final full season with Minnesota.
Peterson departed the Vikings after the 2016 season, becoming a journeyman since. In the last five seasons, Peterson spent time with the Saints, Cardinals, Commanders, Lions, Titans, and Seahawks.
He’s currently a free agent.
Amos — or the other Adrian — began his career with the Bears, spending four years in Chicago. When his rookie deal expired, he opted not to remain with the Bears and signed with another NFC North team, the Packers (during the same offseason that the franchise welcomed Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith).
On Amos’ declaration, Peterson is indeed in the Top 5 of meaningful RB statistical metrics. To date, he’s registered 14,918 rushing yards, ranking as the fifth-most all-time behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, the ageless Frank Gore, and Barry Sanders. In fact, Peterson needs only 352 rushing yards to pass Sanders on the all-time pecking order.
Peterson already ranks fourth on the NFL’s rushing-touchdown leaderboard with 120. In this category, he’s outdone by Emmitt Smith, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Marcus Allen. Like the Sanders yardage mark, third place for rushing touchdowns is within Peterson’s reach. He needs four touchdowns to pass Allen for third place.
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It is unclear if Peterson will get a chance to continue his leaderboard climb. He’s 37, which is absolutely ancient by non-Frank Gore criteria. Still, Peterson usually finds a way to latch onto a team for a few games per season as of late.
A weird fact about Peterson? Since departing Minnesota in 2017, his teams are 0-4 against the Vikings in head-to-head showdowns. Teams with Peterson on the roster have never beaten the Broncos, Colts, Jets, Patriots, or Vikings.
For Amos, he gets a crack at the Vikings early in 2022. The Packers travel to Minneapolis for a Week 1 bout with the Vikings on September 11th.
Peterson mentioned in March his desire to retire with the Vikings.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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