Cowboys Sign Adrian Peterson? 'If God's Willing!' Says RB Legend

Adrian Peterson has rushed for 14,918 — No. 5 on the all-time list — and 120 touchdowns in his career. And there is now Dallas Cowboys-related "buzz'' about a big idea ...

FRISCO - Adrian Peterson is a Texas schoolboy legend, an all-time NFL superstar, a former apple of Jerry Jones' eye and a future Hall of Famer who in recent years has been reluctant to call it a career.

And "AD'' is at it again now, in a way that has the local newspaper suggesting there should be a Dallas Cowboys connection.

“Mentally, I haven’t officially hung it up,” Peterson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We’ll see what happens. My mindset is, if God’s willing maybe an opportunity presents itself and maybe it happens this season.''

And so the Star-Telegram has expanded on the idea, writing, “Peterson was once linked to the Cowboys following his departure from the Vikings. Following the release of Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys are in the market for short-yardage back. Could Peterson be an option in training camp or some point in 2023?”

We think the answer is ... well ... "no.'' Part of our reasoning is that if the Cowboys really wanted to employ a "short-yardage back'' at an age that puts him past his prime, Elliott at 27 makes more sense than the 38-year-old Peterson, who didn't even play last year.

There is certainly something romantic about the notion, of course. Peterson is a Texas native and starred at Oklahoma before emerging as a unique superstar with the Minnesota Vikings. 

And to his credit, Peterson has rushed for 14,918 — No. 5 on the all-time list — and has 120 touchdowns in his career. But even when he last played, hanging on by a shoestring with the Titans and Seahawks in 2021, he totaled just 38 carries.

Would the Cowboys unearth something in him that would prove the Titans and the Seahawks and the rest of the NFL wrong?

As the Cowboys open up OTAs this week here at The Star, the backfield is just unsettled enough to allow for curiosity about the thought. Tony Pollard is the starter, and not enough is known about what backups Ronald Jones, Malik Davis and rookie Deuce Vaughn might accomplish. But in the end, this idea would play more as a "marketing ploy'' than as a "football move.'' ... which romance aside, is no way to build an NFL roster.

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