Roster moves – Redskins Sign Peterson, Smith

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August 20, 2018

by Steve Thomas

The Redskins made a bold move today to fix their injury ravaged running back corps, signing long-time veteran and future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, as well as former Miami Dolphin running back De’Veon Smith.  The team also waived tackle Cameron Jefferson with an injury designation.

Peterson, who is 33 years old and stands 6’1″ and weighs 220 pounds, is entering his 12th NFL campaign after spending the first ten years of his career as the centerpiece of the Minnesota Vikings offense.  He rushed for 11,747 yards for the Vikings, for an average of 4.9 yards per carry, and 97 touchdowns.  During those years, he was selected to 7 Pro Bowls and 4 First Team All-Pro teams.  He was the NFL’s leading rusher three times, including in 2012 when he gained an astounding 2,097 yards.

Peterson left Minnesota to join the Saints prior to the 2017 season, and was subsequently traded to Arizona during the season.  The Cardinals released him this past March.  In total, Peterson rushed for 529 yards on 156 carries for an average of 3.4 yards per carry in the 2017 season.  He has earned a total of 12,276 yards in his career, which is ranked 12th in NFL History.

Peterson endured controversy of his own making when he was indicted in 2014 by a Montgomery County, Texas, grand jury for reckless or negligent injury to a child in a case that concerned his methods of discipline of his son.  Peterson eventually pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of recklessly assaulting his son, receiving a sentence of 80 hours of community service, probation, and a fine.  Peterson had a long-drawn out battle with the NFL over league discipline regarding the incident, the net result being that he missed 15 games of the 2014 season.   He also missed 13 games of the 2016 season due to a knee injury.  The net result of Peterson’s injury and suspension is that Peterson should be relatively fresh this year by NFL running back standards. Peterson has played only one full season between 2014 and the present, with just 541 carries, which works out to an average of just 135 per year over that time span.

Peterson is close friends with the Redskins’ star left tackle and fellow Oklahoma alum Trent Williams.

De’Veon Smith, 5’11, 220 pounds, attended the University of Michigan and originally entered the NFL in 2017 when he was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.  Smith was active for 3 games for the Dolphins, gaining 27 yards on 3 carries.  He ran the 40 yard dash in 4.85 seconds at the 2017 Michigan pro day.  He gained 2,235 yards on 495 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per carry in four yards at Michigan.