Adrian Peterson: Being 30 as a RB ‘doesn’t apply to me’

Adrian Peterson has one more NFL season left in his 20s. The Minnesota Vikings star will turn 30 next month, and 30 is typically a bad number for NFL running backs. Most of them hit a wall in their late 20s and aren’t even on a roster by the time 30 comes knocking. Peterson is not worried about becoming another statistic.

Despite the fact that he has already suffered a torn ACL and has carried the ball more than 2,000 times during his career, Peterson insists he is nowhere close to slowing down.

“The same thing I thought when they say ACL, you’ll never come back from it,” Peterson said during minicamp last week, via Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. “It is what is. It doesn’t apply to me. I have a totally different mindset and mind frame, so I’ll just stay in my lane and let everybody else say what they have to say.”

In fact, AP has his eye on 10 more seasons.

“Well, I was talking to Favre,” Peterson added. “Forty sounds like a good number.”

Favre took a beating throughout his career, but he was a quarterback. He didn’t get hit nearly as often as Peterson does, and that’s bound to take it’s toll at some point.

Is it possible to remain productive through age 30 and beyond? Sure. Emmitt Smith rushed for over 1,000 yards each season (aside from his rookie year) with the Dallas Cowboys through age 32. He showed plenty of signs of slowing down, but Smith remained relatively productive beyond age 30.

People like Smith are the exception. Peterson is more than capable of being another exception. Like all the greats before him, he’ll need some good fortune along the way.