Sean Payton open to bringing Adrian Peterson back to Saints with Mark Ingram suspension

Adrian Peterson joined the New Orleans Saints last season for a short stint before a trade to the Arizona Cardinals after the emergence of rookie running back Alvin Kamara.

Peterson didn’t see much playing time in New Orleans and appeared frustrated at times on the sideline with head coach Sean Payton.

No bad blood between Saints, Adrian Peterson

But Payton told reporters on Saturday that the Saints were open to bringing Peterson back to the team after the four-game suspension of Mark Ingram for violating the NFL’s PED policy. Payton downplayed talk of a bad relationship with the seven-time Pro Bowl running back.

“This gets back to the notion that we had any argument in Minnesota,” 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.”

Sean Payton told reporters that he does not have a bad relationship with Adrian Peterson and is open to bringing him back to the Saints. (AP)
Sean Payton told reporters that he does not have a bad relationship with Adrian Peterson and is open to bringing him back to the Saints. (AP)

Saints focused on running backs currently on roster for now

The Saints recently signed second-year running back Jonathan Williams, who carried the ball 27 times for 94 yards and a touchdown last season with the Buffalo Bills and don’t have immediate plans to bring in another running back.

“Right now no, I wouldn’t say,” Payton said of adding another back to the roster. “We are constantly looking at who’s available, but I’m anxious to evaluate the guys that we have here and our numbers here right now.”

Peterson carried the ball 27 times for 81 yards in four games with the Saints last season before tallying 448 yards on 129 carries in six games in Arizona.

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