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Hall of Famers Hit the Market

Peterson and Revis are both in the wind.

I can’t remember the last time two guys who should be first-ballot Hall of Famers hit the market at the same time with at least a year or two of playing ability on the table. But that’s exactly what’s happened when the Minnesota Vikings informed running back Adrian Peterson they would decline his 2017 option and the New York Jets cut cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Each man comes into the free agency period with a loaded resume and plenty of questions.

Let’s start with Adrian Peterson. 

Peterson is just a year removed from leading the NFL with 327 carries for 1,485 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. But last season Peterson tore his meniscus and sprained his MCL in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers and never fully recovered. He played in a couple of garbage games at the end of the season, but didn’t do much, rushing for a total of 72 yards in his three starts and no touchdowns.

Peterson has bounced back from knee injuries before, but the last time he was 27 years old. He’s 31 now and there’s plenty of reasons for concern he will have lost a step for any team that signs him.

https://twitter.com/SportsQuotient/status/836660143806783488

That being said, Adrian Peterson minus a step could still be a damn good running back. Peterson’s biggest problem coming into free agency is his own inability to pass block and be an effective third-down back. You could blame the coaching he’s had in Minnesota and I certainly do, but can a new offensive coach actually teach him to pick up a blitz? It can’t be that hard, yet it’s just something Peterson has never been very good at.

Peterson was due to make $18 million this year if the Vikings kept him and there was no way that was happening. His contract and guaranteed money kept him on the roster for the last couple of seasons and it worked in his, and the Vikings’ favor in 2015. There’s no way Peterson, in his current shape and age, will come close to making that as a free agent. AP is looking at, at most, a $7 million a year contract and no more than two years.

But Peterson has made plenty of money in his NFL career and needs to start thinking about winning a championship. His best, natural fit would be to stay in the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers. The New England Patriots could take a solid look at him too, as should the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders.

What about Darrelle Revis?

Revis is an interesting case for a couple of reasons. While there’s a good chance Adrian Peterson might still have another 1,200-yard plus season in the tank, we got a full season’s worth of film on Revis with the Jets last year and it wasn’t great.

With Revis in trouble for the whole cell phone thing in Texas, the Jets got the chance to part ways with him and just eat $6 million which is a gift considering he was going to cost them $15.3 million in cap this season.

While plenty of people are ready to close the book on Revis, I’m not and there’s a good chance other NFL teams aren’t either. His days as an elite cornerback are probably behind him, but his days as a top safety could be just beginning.

It’s a move plenty of other players have made to great success and gotten years back on their careers. Aeneas Williams played until he was 36 years old after switching to safety with the St. Louis Rams. Rod Woodson switched to safety once his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers was up and his career seemed on the wane after one season with the Baltimore Ravens (just like Revis). He ended up playing until he was 38 by moving to free safety.

Revis is just 31 and a move to a center-field style free safety could not only buy him five or six more years in the league, but could make him one of the best in the game again. It seems like an easy chance to take and one a team like the Los Angeles Rams, in desperate need of star power and that centerfielder, should make. Especially with Revis commanding a significantly lower salary for 2017.

Of course, signing Revis will probably come with an NFL suspension for at least two games and that’s probably the best case scenario since he could face some actual jail time after his arrest on four felonies two weeks ago.

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Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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