peterson.jpg
Getty Images

After sitting out the 2022 season, former NFL MVP Adrian Peterson would like everyone to know that he's not officially retired and that he would actually like to play this year. 

During a recent interview on "RG3 and the Ones," the 38-year-old Peterson was asked if he could still play in the NFL and he didn't hesitate with his answer. 

"I can still play, I can still play," Peterson told Robert Griffin III. "I feel like I have the ability to get out there and outperform a lot of these kids that I see playing today." 

Not only does Peterson feel strongly that he can still play in the NFL, but he is actually hoping to get signed at some point this season. 

"I definitely still want to play, I still have the passion and the desire and the love to get out there and go out there and put my best foot forward," Peterson said. "God willing, given the opportunity, whether that's before playoffs here soon, I'll be ready to go out there and make something happen."

The problem for Peterson is that most teams aren't interested in signing a running back who is almost 30, and he's almost 40. Peterson turned 38 in March and if he were to actually play a down this year, he would become the oldest running back to play in the NFL in the Super Bowl era, which goes back to 1966. 

Right now, that honor belongs to Lorenzo Neal, a former fullback who played in exactly one game after turning 38 during the 2008 season. If you don't want to count fullbacks, then the honor for oldest running back goes to Frank Gore, who was 37 when he played for the Jets during the 2020 season. Either way, Peterson will become the oldest running back list if he plays a single snap this year. 

Peterson hasn't been on the field since the 2021 season when he played for both the Titans and Seahawks. His most recent NFL game came in December 2021 when he carried the ball 11 times for 16 yards and a touchdown in a Seattle win over San Francisco. 

When Peterson was in his prime, he was arguably the best running back in football. Not only did he lead the league in rushing three times, but he also rushed for 2,097 yards in 2012 when he was voted NFL MVP after becoming the seventh-player in league history to hit the 2,000 yard mark (Eight players total have now hit 2,000 yards after Derrick Henry did it 2020). Peterson also holds the record for most rushing yards in a single-game with 296. 

At this point, the odds seemed stacked against Peterson signing with someone, but you never want to count him out. He's an athletic freak and if a team suffers a few injuries at running back between now and the end of the season, it wouldn't be totally surprising to see them at least give Peterson a call.

If Peterson doesn't get signed this year, then he'll definitely be retiring. The running back said over the summer that he would call it quits if he didn't end up playing in 2023. 

"If nothing happens this season, for sure, I will be hanging it up," Peterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in June. 

If Peterson does retire without ever playing another down, he'll have a strong argument for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The seven-time Pro Bowler will finish with the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in NFL history (120) and the fifth-most rushing yards (14,918).