ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins will host free-agent running back Adrian Peterson on Monday, one day after meeting with Jamaal Charles.
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The Redskins, who worked out Orleans Darkwa on Sunday as well, have been hit with several injuries at running back. They lost rookie Derrius Guice to a season-ending torn ACL in the preseason opener. Two backups, Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall, are out with ankle injuries. The team waived another back, Martez Carter, on Saturday with an injury designation.
That left the Redskins with only three healthy backs in practice and a desire to add more, which led them to Peterson. There had been no contact between the sides until Sunday afternoon after the team met with Charles and worked out Darkwa.
"I fly in tonight. I'm down for working out or whatever I have to do to make the team," Peterson told ESPN's Josina Anderson.
Coach Jay Gruden said the team isn't looking for a starter, as that job belongs to Rob Kelley.
"We want to get physicals on them just in case," Gruden said of Peterson, Charles and Darkwa. "We've had very unlucky situations with our running backs. If something else happens, we'll be really, really, really thin. We want to make sure we're covering all our bases right now, and we'll address it when we feel like we have to."
Peterson, 33, made seven Pro Bowls in 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, but the team made him a free agent when it declined to exercise an option in his contract last year. Peterson signed a two-year deal with New Orleans, but he was traded to Arizona on Oct. 10. The Cardinals released him after the season.
Peterson ranks 12th on the NFL's all-time rushing list, with 12,276 yards. He has added another 2,015 yards receiving. In 2012, Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards -- second most in a season, after Eric Dickerson.
Last season with Arizona, Peterson had two games in which he rushed for 293 yards, but in four others, he gained a combined 155. He was suspended in 2014 after he was charged with child abuse.
Charles, 31, is a four-time Pro Bowler who has rushed for 7,556 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. He has also caught 308 passes for 2,586 yards and 20 touchdowns. He spent nine years with Kansas City and last season with Denver. Injuries limited him to a combined eight games in 2015-16.
"I have no idea what's going to happen, but he's certainly someone I think a lot of, as both a teammate and a person, and think he's the kind of player who can bring a lot to the table," said quarterback Alex Smith, who played with Charles in Kansas City. "There were a few years where he was the bulk of the offense, run game and pass game. Never came out of the game. He was that kind of player, and he was doing that for several years there."
If Marshall isn't ready to open the season, the Redskins might want another backup to third-down back Chris Thompson. Gruden has said that Thompson might be limited early in the season. They also have Kapri Bibbs, who could serve in that role.
Darkwa spent the past four seasons with the New York Giants, emerging last season with 751 yards rushing, with 154 coming in the season finale win over Washington. He worked out for the Redskins on Sunday.
Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
Multiple injuries at running back forced the Washington Redskins to look at signing veteran Adrian Peterson.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Washington is hosting Peterson for a team visit.
Josina Anderson of ESPN also noted the player's interest in joining the Redskins.
"I'm down for working out or whatever I have to do to make the team," he said Sunday.
Peterson appeared in 10 games last season while splitting time with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals, finishing with 529 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The 33-year-old averaged just 3.4 yards per carry after producing only 1.9 yards per carry in his three games in 2016.
Still, Peterson is only a few years removed from leading the NFL with 1,485 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2015 with the Minnesota Vikings. That season marked his fourth All-Pro and seventh Pro Bowl selections as part of his likely Hall of Fame career.
He has, however, struggled to find a landing spot this year.
Washington is in need of backfield help after rookie second-round pick Derrius Guice tore his ACL in the team's first preseason game.
Samaje Perine suffered a sprained ankle and will likely miss at least a week, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Byron Marshall will likely miss two to four weeks with an ankle injury, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
And with Chris Thompson still recovering from a broken fibula, Rob Kelley is the only healthy and established running back on the roster.
Adrian Peterson is set to work out for the Redskins on Monday. (Bob Leverone/AP)
The search for another running back is in full swing at Redskins Park, and a future Hall of Famer is the next candidate scheduled to make a visit.
Seven-time Pro Bowl honoree Adrian Peterson plans to work out for the Washington Redskins on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, as the organization looks to replenish a position that has been ravaged by injuries. The Redskins only had three running backs — Rob Kelley, Kapri Bibbs and Chris Thompson — available for their previous two practices and are contemplating signing at least one more.
Rookie Derrius Guice was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason opener, and both Samaje Perine (sprained ankle) and Byron Marshall (lower leg) were injured in the second preseason game Thursday and are expected to miss multiple weeks.
“We are going to wait on Samaje and Byron, see where they’re at, and make a decision whether or not we are going to sign another one here in the next day or so,” Coach Jay Gruden said.
Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles and former New York Giants running back Orleans Darkwa worked out for the team Sunday morning, but both left without deals.
“We want to bring [Charles and Peterson] in to get physicals on them just in case,” Gruden said. “Like I said, we have had very [unlucky] situations with our running backs with obviously Guice and Marshall and Samaje. If something else happens, we are going to be really, really, really thin. So we just want to make sure we are covering all our bases right now, and we will address it when we feel like we have to.”
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Peterson, 33, remains unsigned after he spent the 2017 season with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. The 2012 NFL MVP ran for 529 yards in 10 games last season, and his last standout season was a 1,485-yard, 11-touchdown effort with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. He is the biggest name available in free agency, regardless of position, and ranks 12th in league history with 12,276 career rushing yards. Peterson, however, dealt with injuries in both 2016 and 2017.
The 26-year-old Darkwa rushed for a career-high 751 yards and five touchdowns in 2017. The undrafted college free agent originally signed with the Dolphins in 2014.
Charles, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, had 296 rushing yards in 14 games with the Denver Broncos in 2017 before hitting free agency. The 31-year-old posted five 1,000-yard seasons in a six-year span with the Chiefs, including a career-high 1,509 yards in 2012. Charles followed that up with 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing and 70 catches for 693 yards and seven touchdowns receiving in 2013. He hasn’t been as productive since ACL surgery in 2015.
Redskins quarterback Alex Smith and Charles were teammates for four years in Kansas City; they bumped into each other at the Redskins’ facility Sunday.
“I know him really well as a teammate and as a person,” Smith said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen or what will happen. Wait and see. He’s certainly someone I can go out with as both a teammate and a person. He can bring a lot to the table.
“There were a few years there where he was the bulk of the offense — run game and passing. He never came out of the game. He was that kind of a player. He was doing that for several years there.”
The past two Redskins practices have been a bit comical when the group breaks into individual positions. There seems to be as many assistants and staff as players in the running back section, with only three bodies going through the drills. Position coach Randy Jordan even joked about it Sunday when he looked at the media and asked whether anyone had any experience playing running back.
The team still believes in Thompson, Kelley and Bibbs, and Gruden acknowledged the Redskins are not looking for a starter from the free agents they bring in. The coach called Perine and Marshall day-to-day situations but added that Marshall could go on injured reserve.
“The big thing is to make sure I have three up for [Week 1 against] Arizona,” Gruden said. “So I think I have three in house that I feel very good about and maybe get another in here to compete and go from there.”
More injuries
The Redskins had a number of players not participating during the portion of practice open to media; some were expected, while others were new to the sideline. Zach Brown, Quinton Dunbar, Chase Roullier, Morgan Moses, Cam Sims, Josh Harvey-Clemons, Cameron Jefferson, Ty Nsekhe, Brian Quick and Matt Ioannidis were out in addition to Perine and Marshall.
Jordan Reed (virus) and Jamison Crowder (groin) returned to the practice after sitting out Saturday.
Gruden declined to specify the new absences.
“All these guys that aren’t practicing have something wrong,” Gruden said. “They’re going to get treatment, and hopefully we will see them out there sooner or later. Hopefully we will get them out there for the next game, the next day, and that is all I can go by.”
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Preseason Week 3
The third preseason game is typically the one in which the starters get the most work, often playing a half or three quarters. The Redskins, however, may be a little gun-shy when they host the Broncos on Friday because of the mounting injuries and the fact that 23 players went on injured reserve last season. There’s risk that another starter could go down organically or because of a mistake made by a down-the-line player being on the field because of injuries to others.
“That’s something I have to look at very closely with our staff and find out what players are available,” Gruden said. “We’ll get some quality work, regardless of who is out there. It’s just a matter of who I want to put out there and get ready for the game Friday night.
“So we have lots of options. We’ve got a lot of good players here that are willing to play [and] are ready to play. So we’ll have definitely some guys out there to play, and it’s just a matter of who. I’m not sure yet.”
Kimberley A. Martin contributed to this report.
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In the aftermath of rookie Derrius Guice's crushing season-ending ACL injury, coach Jay Gruden's initial response was to spurn the veteran free-agent market in favor of the younger tailbacks already on Washington's roster.
After watching Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall both go down with ankle injuries in the second preseason game, Gruden no longer has that luxury in a suddenly shallow backfield.
Among the running backs set to visit the Redskins are Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles and Orleans Darkwa, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via sources informed of the situation.
This is the first reported visit of the year for Peterson, who was released by the Cardinals in March. Now 33 years old, the seven-time All-Pro selection is fully healthy after his 2017 season was ended prematurely by a neck injury.
Although Peterson averaged just 3.4 yards per carry last year, he broke the 130-yard mark twice in six games as Arizona's one-dimensional bellcow runner. Behind a porous offensive line, he showed impressive burst, power, jump-cuts and breakaway speed.
Teams have been reluctant to sign him as a complementary back in a committee attack, however, because his presence on the field too often telegraphs a running play.
Charles, 31, has been an afterthought in free agency after rushing for 296 yards on 69 carries (4.3 yards per carry) last year. Although the four-time Pro Bowl selection flashed promising playmaking ability in September, his role diminished over the next three months as Denver's season descended into deep disappointment.
Although Peterson and Charles are the headliners here, Darkwa is also working out for the team's brass on Sunday.
The 26-year-old led the Giants with 751 rushing yards last season, averaging a respectable 4.4 yards per carry.
On the positive side, he's fully healthy after undergoing surgery to remove a stabilizing plate from his leg in May. On the down side, Football Outsiders Almanac 2018 tracked him with the lowest rate of broken tackles among starting running backs in 2017.
No matter which back the Redskins opt to bring in for depth purposes, a slimmed-down Rob Kelley appears to be locked in as the Week 1 starter.
