Adrian

Peterson

Peterson still could be charged with a misdemeanor. The veteran running back maintained that he was innocent after being arrested, and his wife Ashley said that at “no point” did Peterson hit her. The 36-year-old says that he and his wife got into an altercation and he grabbed the ring off her finger, leaving a scratch, and the state of California – not his wife – pressed the charges. We will just have to see what happens as the case progresses and more information comes out.

Peterson’s rep has claimed the incident was a “verbal argument” between Peterson and his wife, though Peterson was removed from the plane and charged with a felony. Peterson’s wife reportedly remained on the flight as scheduled after Peterson was removed and booked. This is not Peterson’s first off-the-field issue after he was charged with child abuse in 2014.

At age 36, Peterson was out of the league before the Titans took a chance on him following Derrick Henry’s injury. He did not do much there before being cut after three games and was only active for one game with the Seahawks before a back injury ended his season. Even if he gets healthy and wants to give it another go, it is tough to imagine there will be much interest in the future Hall of Famer.

Peterson’s age-36 season is over. He appeared in three games for the Titans and one for the Seahawks this year, turning 38 carries into 98 yards (2.6 YPC) and two layup touchdowns at the goal line. Peterson has literally nothing left to give and needs to just retire at this point. He’s somewhat tainting his legacy by holding on for so long. We doubt he gets picked up next offseason at 37 years old in March.

Carroll said Peterson was running around at practice Wednesday, suggesting he is over his back injury. The real question is why would the Seahawks activate Peterson with the backfield healthy and Rashaad Penny coming off a great game? Only Carroll knows.

Peterson reportedly suffered a lower back injury at Wednesday’s practice and won’t play on Sunday. With Travis Homer also ruled out, the Seahawks will lean on some combination of Rashaad Penny, DeeJay Dallas, and Alex Collins in a tremendous spot against Houston. Penny notably rushed 10 times in Week 13 without Collins available.

Peterson is technically on the practice squad, so he doesn’t get listed on the Seahawks’ official injury reports. The Seahawks media isn’t exactly sure what, if anything, he is dealing with, but ESPN’s Brady Henderson believe it is “not looking like the Seahawks will elevate Peterson for Sunday. Alex Collins is apparently feeling “considerably better,” and could re-take the lead on early downs despite his struggles. Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas are change-of-pace options. We didn’t say good ones.

Collins missed Week 13 while dealing with the abdomen issue and should return to an easy matchup versus Houston. The only issue is the signing of Adrian Peterson. Seattle signed Peterson partially because of a slew of injuries they were dealing with at running back but it was also clear that they were looking for better production from their backfield. While Peterson, who averaged 1.5 yards per carry in his debut last week, isn’t going to give them improved numbers, he will serve to turn the backfield into a committee. No Seattle running back can be trusted as a fantasy option in Week 14, despite the juicy matchup.

Peterson’s debut run as a Seahawk going for negative five yards was a great bit of foreshadowing as he would ultimately run for 1.5 yards per carry while constantly getting stuffed at or near the line of scrimmage. He picked up his first touchdown of the year on an uncontested run from one yard out. With Alex Collins out, Peterson and Rashaad Penny split the Seattle backfield but neither runner looked capable of doing much more than falling in the end zone. All Seattle backs can be kept on the bench until further notice.

Peterson is expected to play Sunday despite being in Seattle for less than a week. It’s unclear how much of a role he’ll have with Alex Collins (core), Rashaad Penny (hamstring), and Travis Homer (calf) all questionable. Peterson plodded his way to 82 yards (3.0 YPC) and a touchdown in three games with the Titans before getting waived last month. With Peterson added to an already crowded committee, none of Seattle’s running backs are fantasy options this week.