Mike Zimmer Believes Adrian Peterson Can Have “Same Role” Next Season

For most mortal running backs, the big “three-oh” has long since signalled the start of a very rapid and unflattering drop in production, often leading to early retirement either by choice or otherwise. But Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson is no mortal man, and head coach Mike Zimmer feels he can still thrive with the “same role” in 2016.

“I think he can still handle the same role he’s had,” Zimmer told reporters during the week at the scouting combine. “I think we have to do a better job of continuing to try to get him some more space to run in, so he’s not running into one hundred guys all the time.”

By the sounds of things, Zimmer wants the best of both worlds in terms of the load shared between his running back and quarterback. A big part of giving Peterson more space to make plays will be to force opposing defenses into respecting the pass; a facet of Minnesota’s game that has been decidedly second-tier since drafting Teddy Bridgewater in 2014.

Bridgewater enjoyed incremental improvements to almost every facet of his game in his sophomore season. His completion percentage improved by one percent, he threw for 300 more yards, and flatlined at 14 touchdowns while throwing 3 less interceptions.

Still, running an offense primarily through your running back is not a sustainable strategy in the modern NFL, and Zimmer will need Bridgewater to beef those numbers up. All this is assuming Peterson can casually hurdle over the proverbial wall that stops runners dead after their thirtieth birthday.

After one year out of the game care of some nasty child abuse allegations, what many expected to be an inconspicuous return for Peterson only resulted in him leading the league in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns for the 2015 season.

With some extra mileage on the treads and a lot less time until he next dons the pads and cleats, there’s no telling what kind of production Peterson will manage in 2016. But the Vikings’ most relied-upon player turns 31 next month. Even the greats succumb to Father Time eventually, and when that happens, Minnesota will want to be able to readily fill the void.