Pete Carroll Reveals Why Seahawks Signed Adrian Peterson

The Seattle Seahawks signed former NFL great Adrian Peterson to try and provide a spark to their run game down the stretch of the 2021 season. The NFC West club has struggled to get any sort of consistent production out of its backfield and is hoping that the 36-year-old veteran will succeed where other players have failed.

Peterson was just released by the Titans this past week after a brief stint with the AFC contenders. In three games with Tennessee, the 2012 MVP carried the ball 27 times for 82 yards and one touchdown.

It makes sense for the Seahawks to try something radical to revitalize their ground game, but Seattle head coach Pete Carroll gave a rather head-scratching justification of why the team decided to bring in a player like Peterson who is well past his prime.

“[Carroll]’s response was along the same lines as ‘He helps us win now'”, Rapoport reported Thursday on NFL Network. “That is the mode that the Seahawks are in, in signing Adrian Peterson to come in and give their running game a little bit of a jolt. Obviously they’ve lost Chris Carson to a season-ending neck injury and they’ve really struggled to run the ball a little bit.

“They believe that Adrian Peterson helps with that, maybe even as soon as this week.”

At 3-8, the Seahawks are well out of the NFC playoff picture, even with a clear gap between the top five teams and the rest of the conference. The low point for Carroll and company came this past week, when Seattle fell to the 5-6 Washington Football Team on Monday night.

The Seahawks ground game hit rock bottom in the Week 12 loss, gaining just 34 yards on 12 carries. Alex Collins and DeeJay Dallas have done their best to lead a depleted unit, but the injuries to Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny have proven to be too much for Seattle to overcome.

So, the Seahawks will have to hope that Peterson can give the backfield some sort of spark in their final six games. Despite their disappointing record, Carroll and Seattle want to make the most out of what could be Russell Wilson’s final year and clearly believe that the 36-year-old running back can help them out.

Time will tell if that proves to be the case.

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