Former Washington Commanders back Adrian Peterson hasn’t formally retired from football, however, that day seemingly isn’t far off after he logged simply thirty-eight carries in four games between the Seahawks and Titans last season.
While Peterson didn’t be part of Washington till well after his prime — he had already claimed 3 dashing titles were named league MVP and won an Offensive Player of the Year award. And made seven professional Bowls by 2018 — the NFL’s fifth all-time leading rusher was quietly a productive player over his 2 years in DC.
In 2018, Peterson totaled 1,042 dashing yards and 7 touchdowns on a decent 4.2 yards per carrying on the way to finishing third in Comeback Player of the Year voting. If you remember, Peterson has proven to be a boom for Washington’s offense after knee injuries derailed Derrius Guice’s rookie season.
Peterson took a step back in 2019, however, his 898 dashing yards and 5 touchdowns were nothing to sneeze at for a 34-year-old running back.
With Peterson’s soccer career winding down, he’s set to take up an equal physically-demanding sport — boxing — as he and Le’Veon Bell have signed contracts for a heavyweight exhibition on July 30 at Crypto.com Arena in LA.
Former Commander back Adrian Peterson will face Le’Veon Bell in a very celebrity boxing exhibition
This is a reasonably juicy pairing for NFL fans, as Peterson and Bell were both one of the league’s best running backs in their primes. Whereas Peterson’s prime lasted for much longer than Bell’s, who peaked from 2014-2017, Bell was one of the game’s most dominant offensive weapons at any position for those four years.
Bell may have a seven-year age advantage on the previous Commanders star, however, everybody is aware of Peterson is a freak when it involves taking care of his body. After all, Bell out-snapped the longer-term first-ballot Hall of Famer by just one last year despite having quite 1,500 snaps on his resume relative to the previous Steeler.
It’s unclear what the chances are for this exhibition, however, Peterson and Bell are following a trend of high-profile athletes obtaining their feet wet in boxing.
If you recall, legendary 49ers back Frank Gore fought former All-Star NBA point guard Deron Williams.
Peterson is hoping to try to do something almost like Bell because it remains to be seen if either NFL veteran has the stamina to last many rounds. Regardless of the case, Commanders fans ought to mark their calendars for July 30 to envision which running back comes out on top during this match.
Whoever wins, Peterson and Bell can seemingly be hoping a coaching camp invite is waiting for them after the exhibition. Whereas boxing may be a fun hobby, neither player seems ready to say goodbye to soccer simply nevertheless.
