WFT Vs. Lions: Will Adrian Peterson Be An All-Day Problem?

By any nickname, Adrian Peterson is a future Hall-of-Famer. The Washington Football Team gave up on him. The Lions gave him a home. This Sunday, they meet again, and A.D. has vengeance on his mind

ASHBURN, Va. - Ron Rivera made a controversial decision earlier this year, one that ranks right up there with the Washington coach's benching of Dwayne Haskins. 

Cutting a future Hall-of-Famer in Adrian Peterson was a tough choice, and yet Rivera made it, because he and his staff believed in a young backfield of Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, Bryce Love and Peyton Barber. 

READ MORE: Former Lion Cornelius Lucas is Crushing it at left tackle

The problem with the thinking? Let us count the ways ....

*Love wasn't 100% and was completely unproven. 

*Gibson was extremely raw at the position. 

*McKissic is more of a third-down back.

*Barber was supposed to be a younger hammer than Peterson, but he's rarely used. 

With Peterson and the Lions on the Sunday Week 10 horizon, Peterson and Rivera are both being asked about meeting up.

Said A.D.: “I would be lying to you if I told you that chip on my shoulder wasn't there,” Peterson told Washington, D.C., TV station WUSA9. “They will get to realize what they let go.”

“You always think about that,'' the coach said. "No matter who you release, you always wonder if you’ll face him again. Again, everybody understands where we went with it because we had an opportunity to watch our young running backs develop and play. We’ve seen 41, J.D. McKissic, step into his role, as we’ve seen Peyton Barber.

"Again, this move was really orchestrated in terms of finding out what we have in terms of our other young backs.”

No doubt about the thought process ... Some doubt about whether the thinking was correct.

"Antonio’s done a nice job in terms of his development, and probably has taken some reps that would’ve gone to him if Antonio hasn’t developed as he has," Rivera told SIcom and a collection of reporters.

"Secondly, you have to give J.D. McKissic some credit for this as well, because he’s really developed nicely. It’s not against anything Peyton hasn’t done, we’ve just got a couple of guys that are a different kind of football player, a different kind of back.”

It makes sense to some degree but Washington needs that aforementioned "hammer'' to get some tough yards ... and Gibson is still learning. The talented third-round selection is absolutely making progress but has been slowed a bit by a shoulder situation that kept him out of practice Wednesday, and a toe injury that limited him earlier. 

That NFL hammer, even at age 35, was and is Adrian Peterson. It could be argued he deserved a better WFT fate if Barber was not really going to be used and if Love was less than 100%. 

Instead, the Washington running game has been inconsistent - so much so it often gets abandoned. A do-over, and Peterson would have maybe gotten a third year in D.C. and at least given coaches an opportunity to have some patience with the run game and to help teach and guide the young Gibson. 

Instead, "A.D.'' ("A.P'' are of course his initials, but "All Day'' was his boyhood nickname for his willingness and ability to play from sunrise to sunset) was released and quickly latched on in Detroit. Peterson was good at the start of the year, but with the maturation of D'Andre Swift finds himself in a backup role (with 93 carries for 350 yards to Swift's 54 carries for 250) for the 3-5 Lions.

Maybe Peterson won't get too many chances to trouble 2-6 Washington ... unless he is especially inspired to shreds an inconsistent WFT run defense that has allowed 130-plus yards in six of eight games in 2020. 

“I’m never excited about playing against a future Hall-of-Famer, that’s for doggone sure,” said an obviously highly-aware coach Rivera.