MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Adrian Peterson visited the Seattle Seahawks, while his original team in Minnesota hosted fellow free agent running back Eddie Lacy.
There’s still a path for Peterson to return to the Vikings, but the signs of his potential departure haven’t stopped popping up.
Peterson was at Seahawks headquarters on Sunday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the details weren’t being made public. This was Peterson’s first in-person meeting with a team since the Vikings declined their option on his contract for 2017 and made him a free agent for the first time.
The Vikings have stated their openness to re-signing their all-time leading rusher for the right price, but they entered the offseason with bigger priorities and kicked it off by adding two new starters on a beleaguered offensive line in free agent tackles Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers.
That said, they’ll probably need to sign a veteran running back at some point with Jerick McKinnon currently the only one on the roster of significance. So their interest in Lacy was telling. The Seahawks have their eyes on Lacy, too, after the 26-year-old’s 2016 season with the Green Bay Packers was shortened by an ankle injury.
SportsTrust Advisors, the agency representing Lacy, announced Thursday on Twitter that he would visit the Seahawks, Vikings and Packers in that order over the following four days. Lacy rushed for 1,100 yards in 2013 and 2014, his first two seasons in the league, before falling off.
With Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise in place, the Seahawks have youth and potential at running back, but with Rawls missing 12 of 36 games over his first two years to ankle and leg injuries their depth isn’t necessarily sound.
With Jamaal Charles and Latavius Murray also on the list with Peterson and Lacy, plenty of high-profile ballcarriers remain available following the initial frenzy on the market for more in-demand positions. Not only has the league evolved to the point where premiums are on quarterbacks, left tackles, pass rushers and cornerbacks, but the 2017 draft class for running backs is one of the strongest in years. So there’s no obvious rush for teams like the Seahawks and Vikings to snatch one up this week.
There’s probably no hurry for Peterson to pick a team, either. He has shared on Twitter multiple videos of his workouts in recent days, perhaps trying to remind the football world that he’s still in exemplary shape with his 32nd birthday looming later this month.
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