The New Orleans Saints were officially dealt their first obstacle of the 2018 NFL season with the four-game suspension of running back Mark Ingram. As a result, they may be open to bringing back a familiar face this offseason.

Running back Adrian Peterson has had some trouble garnering interest from teams in free agency. However, head coach Sean Payton indicated that he is among the other free agents that are on the team's radar, via the team's official website:

“This gets back to the notion that we had any argument in Minnesota [during a Week One game against the Vikings],” Payton said. “There was none. I think a ton of him, and that would be the part where if all of sudden we decided, ‘Hey, we’re going to look at additional players that are on the street,’ his name, there will be a few others. We have him on a board right now, who’s available. Veteran running backs stacked on a board graded, but he’s a tough player, warrior, and a great worker and we had a good relationship.”

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Payton's comments may come as a bit of a surprise considering things did not end on the best of terms with the veteran. Peterson had signed with New Orleans prior to the 2017 campaign with plenty of optimism that he could play a major role in their run game.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned as his stint with the Saints lasted just four games before he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. He managed to turn back the clock with a couple of explosive performances throughout the rest of the season. That said, a reunion would seem highly unlikely.

However, it is clear that both sides have limited options at this point in the offseason.