The Detroit Lions started off the 2019 season in a pretty surprising way. Through three weeks of the season they were 2-0-1.
However, the next two weeks saw them lose absolute nail-biters to the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. Then they dropped one to the Minnesota Vikings.
Those three teams combine for a 17-5 record. So losing to them isn't exactly something to freak out over. That being said, it did drop Detroit to 2-3-1 on the year. Not good, but it's still not a record that would usually make a team consider selling. There is a lot of season left and anything can happen.
Sadly for Detroit, they're in the NFC North and sit in last place. The Chicago Bears are in third with a 3-3 record, then the Vikings are 6-2 and the Packers are 6-1.
Due to that, the Lions aren't in the same spot most 2-3-1 teams would be. Maybe that's why they traded away star safety Quandre Diggs.
They shouldn't give up though, in fact. Detroit should be buying, not selling. Who should they be looking to go after? Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson.
Over the last few weeks Peterson has shown he's got a lot of juice left in him. Some of the runs he's pulled off have been absolutely magical. Over the last three weeks, the running back has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry in all three games, including over 5.0 yards per carry in two of them.
He's wasting away on a 1-7 team though.
Meanwhile, the Lions lost Kerryon Johnson. They've been one of the more average teams carrying the ball this year, at 3.8 yards per carry. Yes, Peterson's only at 3.9 but recent weeks show he's only going to raise that number.
The Lions definitely aren't out of the playoff hunt. They've already dealt with the hardest stretch of their schedule and have a lot of winnable games left. Giving up this early seems ridiculous.
The issue might be the asking price.
You'd assume a 1-7 team with a young running back set to return from injury this year wouldn't be too worried about their 34-year-old veteran running back. Washington's a weird team though.
They are holding on to superstar Trent Williams despite it being pretty common knowledge that teams (especially the Cleveland Browns) are very interested. If they aren't getting rid of someone who has made it known he doesn't want to play for them anymore, they probably aren't too keen on getting rid of anyone else.
Due to that, the Redskins might not be willing to part with Peterson unless giving a King's ransom. That simply wouldn't be worth it.
If the Lions could find a way to get him though, Adrian Peterson would give them a serious running threat and a fantastic veteran leader. If he was on another bad team, I'd say they could get him for really cheap too. With the Redskins though, you never know.
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