The Washington Redskins are set to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, pitting running back Adrian Peterson against one of his former teams for the first time since he was traded.
It wasn't an ideal situation for Peterson. In his brief time with the franchise, he took a secondary role in the running game that he didn't envision.
Despite that, Peterson continues to voice that he has no hard feelings about what transpired in his short time with New Orleans, according to Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post.
“I don’t have any enemies down there,” Peterson said. “It was a wonderful city. They treated me well. I will be back for some beignets when I get down there. But it’ll be good to see some of the guys that I went through training camp with through that whole grind process. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
“I still sit back and not understand what kind of went wrong, but at the end of the day, that has led me here to another opportunity. . . . I made some friends that I’ll have for a lifetime while I was there.”
Peterson originally joined the Saints in hopes of securing the starting job with the team, but he was pushed back behind Mark Ingram and then-rookie Alvin Kamara. Kamara quickly emerging as a potential star at the position dwindled the former league MVP's playing time.
After notching just 81 rushing yards on 27 carries through four games, Peterson was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. It was the right move for the franchise, as Kamara put together an impressive campaign that earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Meanwhile, Peterson has found himself in a promising spot with the Redskins as their clear-cut starter in the backfield, producing 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns through three games thus far.
If anything, this week's game provides a chance for him to showcase to the Saints that he still has plenty left in the tank to play at a high level in his 11th campaign in the league.