Adrian Peterson’s decision to join the New Orleans Saints last season didn’t work out too well for him. Perhaps he should have considered another team who were interested in bringing him on: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Peterson revealed in an interview with Kimberley A. Martin of Yahoo Sports that the Steelers reached out to him last season. But unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Peterson had already had his deal with the Saints in place.
“For instance, with Pittsburgh,” Peterson said, “I know that organization, as far as their talent evaluators, they know that I’ve got something. A lot of people don’t know this because it’s not something that I talk about, but before I signed with the Saints, they were a team that reached out. I just never said anything to anyone about it because I was already locked in and knew that I wanted to sign with the Saints. But Pittsburgh was a team that kind of reached out as well.”
Peterson didn’t prove to be an ideal fit in a Saints offense which already had Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara in their backfield. He then had a few good games with the Cardinals before having his season cut short with a neck injury.
Meanwhile, the Steelers didn't exactly need Peterson as Bell had one of the best seasons of his career last year with 406 touches for 1,946 yards from scrimmage. But maybe Bell would've been spared some wear and tear on his body had Peterson been around to take on some of his career-high 321 carries.
With Bell gone this season, the Steelers are likely fine with having James Conner over Peterson given the former’s ability to contribute more consistently in the passing game.
As for Peterson, he likely isn’t complaining where he ended up eventually. He seems to have found himself a nice home in Washington, where he’s gotten off to a strong start this season.
