Dealing with myriad injuries at the running back position, the Seattle Seahawks are turning to an old face in a new place.
Adrian Peterson, who signed with Seattle just this week, is expected to start in the backfield Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers and get the bulk of the carries, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on NFL GameDay Morning.
The Seahawks elevated Peterson to the active roster Saturday, three days after signing the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer to the practice squad.
Peterson, who had been unemployed at the start of the 2021 season, was released by the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 23 after a three-game stretch in Nashville filling in for the injured Derrick Henry. In those three contests, Peterson logged two starts, played 54 snaps, carried the ball 27 times for 82 yards (3.0 YPC) and a score and caught four passes for 8 yards.
Russell Wilson and the 3-8 Seahawks need all the help they can get on the offensive side of the ball and surely hope Peterson will provide it; Seattle has not eclipsed over 300 total yards or 100 rushing yards since Week 6 and is without starting back Chris Carson for the remainder of the season with a neck injury. Without Carson in the lineup, the fading Seahawks have turned to Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer in recent weeks. But Collins (abdomen), Penny (hamstring) and Homer (calf) are all questionable to play Sunday.
So it is Peterson's turn, in his 15th NFL season and after just two days of practice in the Pacific Northwest, to log a start for his second NFL team in a single campaign. This will be the second time Peterson will have played for two teams in the same season, the last occurrence coming in 2017 (one start with Saints, six starts with Cardinals).
"He's serious about playing. He's not just here for show," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said this week of Peterson. "He's here to come here and try to help us win a game."
Seattle hosts San Francisco (6-5) at Lumen Field at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
