140 Facts About Adrian Peterson

1.

Adrian Lewis Peterson was born on March 21,1985 and is an American football running back who is a free agent.

2.

Adrian Peterson is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history.

3.

Adrian Peterson played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards during the 2004 season.

4.

Adrian Peterson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.

5.

Adrian Peterson was then named the MVP for his performance in the Pro Bowl and became only the fifth player in NFL history to have more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons.

6.

Adrian Peterson tore both his ACL and MCL in a game in late 2011.

7.

In 2013, Adrian Peterson became the third-fastest player to reach 10,000 rushing yards in NFL history.

8.

In 2015, Adrian Peterson became the oldest running back to be named first-team All-Pro at 30.

9.

In 2014, Adrian Peterson was indicted by a grand jury in Texas on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child that occurred earlier that year, and was suspended for the rest of the season.

10.

Since then, Adrian Peterson has played for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks.

11.

Adrian Peterson was born in Palestine, Texas, to Bonita Brown and Nelson Adrian Peterson, who were star athletes in college.

12.

Adrian Peterson's father was a shooting guard for Idaho State, but his dream of a National Basketball Association career was derailed when a gun that his brother was cleaning discharged into his leg.

13.

Adrian Peterson's father nicknamed him "All Day," because his father said he could go all day.

14.

At age 7, Adrian Peterson saw his 9-year-old brother Brian killed by a drunk driver as he rode his bicycle.

15.

Around this time Adrian Peterson began to deal with his pain through sports and became interested in football.

16.

Adrian Peterson played in the popular East Texas, Anderson County Youth Football Program.

17.

Adrian Peterson was a three-sport standout in football, basketball, and track at Palestine High School.

18.

Adrian Peterson was most notable in football, which he played during his junior and senior years.

19.

Adrian Peterson's coach has stated that he believes that, had he not chosen a career in football, Adrian Peterson could have become an Olympic sprinter instead.

20.

Adrian Peterson posted a wind-assisted time of 10.33 seconds in the 100 meters at the 2003 UIL State Track Meet, where he earned a second-place finish behind Ivory Williams, who won the 2004 World Junior Championship over the same distance.

21.

Adrian Peterson has stated that his personal-best times are 10.19 seconds in the 100 meters, 21.23 seconds in the 200 meters, and 47.6 seconds in the 400 meters.

22.

Adrian Peterson attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for coach Bob Stoops's Oklahoma Sooners football team from 2004 to 2006.

23.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 100 yards in the season opener against Bowling Green, 117 yards against Houston, 183 yards against Oregon, 146 yards against Texas Tech, 225 yards against Texas, 130 yards against Kansas State, and 122 yards against Kansas.

24.

Against Oklahoma State on October 30,2004, Adrian Peterson had an 80-yard touchdown run and rushed for 161 yards in the third quarter, finishing with a career-high 249 yards.

25.

Adrian Peterson contributed to a perfect regular season for the Oklahoma Sooners and participated in the 2005 BCS National Championship Game with a berth to the 2005 Orange Bowl against USC Trojans.

26.

Adrian Peterson injured his ankle in the first Big 12 Conference game of the season against Kansas State.

27.

Adrian Peterson started the 2006 season off strong, rushing for an average of over 150 yards per game and scoring nine total touchdowns over five games.

28.

Oklahoma defeated Iowa State in that game; however, on the final drive for the Sooners, Adrian Peterson broke his collar bone when he dove into the end zone on a 53-yard touchdown run.

29.

Adrian Peterson was unable to return for the rest of the Sooners' regular season and missed seven games.

30.

Adrian Peterson refused to discuss his plans beyond the end of this season with the press.

31.

Adrian Peterson concluded his college football career with 1,012 rushing yards his final season, even after missing multiple games due to injury for a total of 4,045 rushing yards in only three seasons.

32.

On January 15,2007, Adrian Peterson declared that he would forego his senior year of college and enter the 2007 NFL Draft.

33.

Adrian Peterson started 22 out of 31 games in his college career and had a dislocated shoulder his first year, a high ankle sprain his sophomore year, and a broken collarbone his final year at Oklahoma.

34.

Adrian Peterson's durability was a consideration for at least two teams in their draft analysis, which impacted selection position.

35.

Adrian Peterson solidified his status as a likely top-10 pick in the draft, arguably revealing more about his mental toughness than any psychological test or team interview could.

36.

Adrian Peterson was the first running back selected and the first of three Oklahoma Sooners to be drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft.

37.

Adrian Peterson believed he was a player that a franchise could build around.

38.

Adrian Peterson began his outstanding rookie year with high expectations for himself; he announced ambitious goals including being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and rushing for 1,341 yards during the course of the year.

39.

Just 11 weeks into his rookie season with the Vikings, Adrian Peterson was well on his way to Dickerson's record and considered one of the elite running backs in the NFL.

40.

Adrian Peterson established additional team records for a rookie during this game, which included the most 100-yard games rushing and the longest touchdown run from scrimmage.

41.

Adrian Peterson set an NFL rookie record with 361 all-purpose yards in a single game.

42.

Three weeks later, on November 4,2007, Adrian Peterson broke his own franchise record as well as the NFL single game rushing yard record when he rushed for 296 yards on 30 carries and three rushing touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers in a home game in Minneapolis.

43.

Adrian Peterson had a 19-yard reception in the game to give him 315 scrimmage yards in the game.

44.

Adrian Peterson recorded the third-most scrimmage yards in a single game and the sixth game overall with at least 300 scrimmage yards in NFL history.

45.

Adrian Peterson's 1,036 rushing yards represents the best eight-game performance by a rookie in NFL history.

46.

On November 11,2007, just a week later, Adrian Peterson injured the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee in a game against the Green Bay Packers.

47.

Almost a month after the injury, Adrian Peterson returned to action on December 2,2007, against the Detroit Lions scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 116 yards.

48.

Adrian Peterson was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team for the 2007 season.

49.

On February 10,2008, Adrian Peterson won the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl MVP award with 16 carries for 129 rushing yards along with two touchdowns.

50.

Adrian Peterson was the first rookie since Marshall Faulk in 1994 to win the Pro Bowl MVP award.

51.

Adrian Peterson finished in second place in rushing yards in the 2007 season behind LaDainian Tomlinson, who finished with 1,474 rushing yards.

52.

Adrian Peterson caught 19 passes for 268 yards and returned 16 kickoffs for 412, giving him 2,021 all-purpose yards.

53.

Adrian Peterson played in all 16 games, of which he started 15.

54.

Adrian Peterson recorded ten games going over 100 rushing yards to go along with ten rushing touchdowns across the season.

55.

Adrian Peterson finished leading the league in rushing with 1,760 yards, which marks the third-most yards in a sophomore season behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 yard season, and Chris Johnson's 2,006-yard season, which occurred the following season in 2009.

56.

Adrian Peterson became the fourth running back to lead the league in yards per game in his first two seasons along with Brown, Earl Campbell, and Dickerson.

57.

On January 14,2009, Adrian Peterson was named to his second AP All-Pro team in two years.

58.

Head coach Brad Childress stated that he wanted to continue leaning on Adrian Peterson, giving him a large number of carries.

59.

Adrian Peterson opened the season by rushing for 180 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns, setting a new Vikings franchise record for rushing in the season opener.

60.

Adrian Peterson again broke the hundred-yard barrier in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, with 143 yards and 22 carries.

61.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

62.

Adrian Peterson finished the year fifth in rushing and lost FedEx Ground Player of the Year to Titans running back Chris Johnson, who had 2,006 rushing yards on the 2009 season.

63.

Adrian Peterson was the starting running back for the NFC team.

64.

Adrian Peterson opened the 2010 season strongly with 392 yards and three touchdowns through the first three weeks.

65.

Adrian Peterson's 80-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter was tied for the longest rush by any player that season.

66.

Adrian Peterson tied for the sixth fastest to reach the 5,000-yard plateau.

67.

Adrian Peterson, who was infamous for fumbling the ball in previous seasons, had a dramatic change in the 2010 season with only one fumble during the regular season, a remarkable turnaround from his previous performances.

68.

Adrian Peterson reached the 6,000-yard milestone on September 18,2011, in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

69.

Adrian Peterson later earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance during the game.

70.

Adrian Peterson was later ruled out for their Week 11 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

71.

Adrian Peterson was ranked eighth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.

72.

Adrian Peterson started Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, although his status was listed as questionable.

73.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in eight months after his ACL and MCL tear.

74.

Adrian Peterson passed Robert Smith to most rushing yards in franchise history.

75.

The game was tied at 34 in the fourth quarter when Adrian Peterson ran for 26 yards, setting the Vikings up for a game-winning field goal with three seconds left.

76.

Adrian Peterson became the second player to rush for 150 or more yards in seven games during an NFL season and had 1,019 yards after contact.

77.

Adrian Peterson finished the 2012 season with 348 carries for 2,097 rushing yards, the second-most ever for a running back in a single season.

78.

Adrian Peterson became only the seventh player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards.

79.

Adrian Peterson was named to his fifth career Pro Bowl and was named as a first-team All-Pro for the third time.

80.

Adrian Peterson was ranked as the best player in the NFL amongst his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.

81.

Adrian Peterson opened his 2013 season by taking his first carry of the year 78 yards for a touchdown.

82.

Adrian Peterson struggled in the first three games of the season without All-Pro fullback Jerome Felton, but upon his return in Week 4, Adrian Peterson rushed for 140 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

83.

Adrian Peterson became the third fastest player to reach the milestone.

84.

Adrian Peterson turned in the fifth highest rushing yardage total for the season with 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 14 games.

85.

Adrian Peterson was named to his sixth career Pro Bowl as a result of his successful season.

86.

Adrian Peterson was ranked fourth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014 for his fourth consecutive finish in the top ten in the players' ranking.

87.

Five days later, on September 12,2014, Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges and subsequently deactivated for Minnesota's Week 2 game against the New England Patriots.

88.

On November 18, the NFL announced that Adrian Peterson would be suspended for the remainder of the 2014 season without pay.

89.

In December, his league appeal was upheld, and Adrian Peterson was scheduled for a federal court appeal hearing on February 6,2015.

90.

On February 26,2015, Adrian Peterson was reinstated to the league after US District Court Judge David Doty ruled in the NFL Players Association's lawsuit against the NFL on Adrian Peterson's behalf.

91.

Adrian Peterson bounced to form in Week 2, picking up 134 yards on 29 carries against the Detroit Lions.

92.

Adrian Peterson struggled more down the stretch, eclipsing 100 yards only once in the final five regular season games and one playoff game.

93.

Adrian Peterson was just the third player in history over the age of 30 to lead the NFL in single-season rushing yards.

94.

Adrian Peterson finished with a league-high 327 carries for 1,485 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

95.

Adrian Peterson earned this third career rushing title, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat three times since Barry Sanders.

96.

Adrian Peterson was named as a first-team All-Pro for the fourth time and was chosen for his seventh career Pro Bowl.

97.

Adrian Peterson was ranked as the best running back and the fifth best player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 players' list.

98.

Adrian Peterson was placed on injured reserve on September 23,2016.

99.

Adrian Peterson returned to action in Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts.

100.

Adrian Peterson played his first game with the Saints on September 11,2017, against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings.

101.

In four games, of which he started one, with the Saints to begin the 2017 season, Adrian Peterson rushed for 81 total yards on 27 carries.

102.

On October 10,2017, Adrian Peterson was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round draft pick.

103.

Adrian Peterson was sidelined for Weeks 13 and 14 due to a neck injury, and was placed on injured reserve on December 15,2017.

104.

Adrian Peterson signed a one-year, veteran minimum contract with the Washington Redskins on August 20,2018.

105.

Adrian Peterson was signed following a number of preseason injuries to their running backs.

106.

In Washington's regular-season opener at the Arizona Cardinals on September 9,2018, Adrian Peterson rushed for 96 yards on 26 carries and caught two passes for another 70 yards.

107.

In Week 16, Adrian Peterson ran for 119 yards on 26 carries against the Tennessee Titans, passing the 1,000-yard mark on the season.

108.

Adrian Peterson became one of five NFL players in history aged 33 or older to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

109.

Adrian Peterson was held to no yards on four carries in the regular season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles making his final total 1,042 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on the season.

110.

Adrian Peterson got the start in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.

111.

In Week 8, against the Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson passed Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson for sixth all-time on the career rushing yards list.

112.

Adrian Peterson finished the season with 211 carries for 898 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns while adding 17 receptions for 142 receiving yards.

113.

Adrian Peterson recorded two games going over 100 rushing yards.

114.

Adrian Peterson was the recipient of the Art Rooney Award.

115.

Adrian Peterson was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

116.

Adrian Peterson was released by the team on September 4,2020.

117.

Adrian Peterson finished with 156 carries for 604 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

118.

Adrian Peterson was promoted to the active roster on November 5,2021.

119.

Adrian Peterson recorded his first rushing touchdown as a Titan in his team debut against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.

120.

On December 1,2021, Adrian Peterson was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.

121.

Adrian Peterson scored a rushing touchdown in that game and tied Jim Brown for tenth on the all-time rushing touchdowns list with 126.

122.

Adrian Peterson became the first player in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown with six different teams.

123.

Adrian Peterson was inactive for the remaining five games of the 2021 season.

124.

One of Adrian Peterson's half-brothers was murdered the night before Adrian Peterson participated in the NFL Combine.

125.

Adrian Peterson had learned about his son only a few weeks prior to his death, and had never met him.

126.

Adrian Peterson is the nephew of former NFL running back Ivory Lee Brown.

127.

Adrian Peterson is friends with offensive tackle Trent Williams, who was a teammate at the University of Oklahoma and with the Washington Redskins.

128.

Adrian Peterson appeared in the Season 4 finale of The League.

129.

On September 12,2014, Adrian Peterson was indicted by a Montgomery County, Texas, grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child, after he had used a wooden implement to discipline his 4-year-old son in Spring, Texas, in May The prosecution in the case alleged that Adrian Peterson used a tree branch to beat his son repeatedly on his back, buttocks, genitals, ankles, and legs.

130.

Adrian Peterson described the implement as a "switch", a form of punishment that was used on Adrian Peterson in his own childhood.

131.

Adrian Peterson was deactivated for one game by the Vikings.

132.

On November 4,2014, Adrian Peterson pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of recklessly assaulting his son.

133.

Adrian Peterson avoided a jail sentence after reaching a plea agreement.

134.

Adrian Peterson was ordered to undergo 80 hours of community service.

135.

In December 2014, Harold Henderson, the NFL-appointed arbitrator for Adrian Peterson's appeal affirmed Adrian Peterson's unpaid suspension until at least spring 2015.

136.

In 2018, Adrian Peterson admitted that he was still using a belt to discipline his son.

137.

In 2018, Adrian Peterson was ordered to repay a Minnesota bank for defaulting on a 2016 loan.

138.

On February 13,2022, Adrian Peterson was arrested by the Los Angeles Airport Police for a domestic violence incident with his wife, Ashley, on a Los Angeles International Airport flight to Houston, Texas.

139.

Days later, Adrian Peterson's wife made a statement that at no point during the flight did Adrian Peterson strike or hit her but that they had had a verbal argument.

140.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office stated the domestic violence charge against Adrian Peterson would be dropped.