New York Giants: Free Agent Adrian Peterson Confident He Can Bounce Back
New York Giants free agency target Adrian Peterson is recovering from knee surgery. He doesn’t understand why people doubt his ability to bounce back.
Between 2007 and 2015, one could argue that Adrian Peterson was the most dominant player in the NFL. He burst onto the scene with an explosive rookie season and never looked back, exceeding 1,000 yards in seven of his first nine seasons..
Unfortunately, the 2016 campaign was consistent with the 2011 and 2014 seasons in the sense that it ended prematurely.
Peterson tore his ACL and MCL in 2011, and was suspended for all but one game during the 2014 season. In 2016, he appeared in just three games due to a torn meniscus and a mild LCL sprain in his right knee.
According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, Peterson is perplexed by the talk that he won’t be able to play at an elite level after his latest injury.
Spoke to Adrian Peterson. He's perplexed by talk doubting he can comeback gvn his 2000+y season after ACL/MCL injury n '11 & rush lead n '15
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 24, 2017
There’s a precedent for Peterson’s attempt at a come back, but there’s also reasonable doubt surrounding his ability to return to form.
In fairness to Peterson, he may be the most physically dominant running back since Bo Jackson. He has an uncanny combination of size, speed, and power, and has come back from severe injuries in the past.
For teams like the New York Giants, that’s created a question that will define the 2017 offseason: can he make a massive comeback once again?
“Again,” of course, is said because of what happened the last time Peterson suffered a severe knee injury: he ran for 2,097 yards and won MVP in his first season back.
True as that all may be, Peterson was 27 years of age during his unforgettable MVP campaign in 2012. In 2017, however, he’ll be 32 years of age—well beyond the traditional expiration date for an NFL running back.
If any player can come back and continue producing at an elite level, it’s the physically dominant superhuman who is Adrian Peterson.
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If the New York Giants are going to sign All Day, however, they can’t possibly ignore the risk involved.