The Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts 34-31 to take over the top spot in the AFC. But the Titans suffered a significant injury to a crucial contributor to their team. Running back, Derrick Henry injured his foot. Henry has a fracture in his foot and will have surgery. The procedure is expected to have a 6-10 week timetable. It will be hard to replace Henry’s NFL leading 937 rushing yards. With Henry out, the Titans will turn to running back Adrian Peterson.
Adrian Peterson
Peterson signed Monday to the Titans practice squad and should be the running back on early downs. Last year Peterson played for the Detroit Lions and rushed for 604 yards on 156 carries with seven touchdowns. The running back also averaged 3.9 yards per carry.
At 36, it will be interesting to see what Peterson had left in the tank. He will bring experience and could running back vision to the Titans backfield. In addition, Peterson will be effective on 1st and second downs. Even though the running back is up an age, he proved that he could effectively carry a regular workload last year. Running backs Peterson age usually do not fair well, but Peterson is no ordinary running back. The former Vikings running back will be fresh from not playing in the first eight weeks, and you know he is in tremendous shape.
Also in the backfield with Peterson will be Jeremy McNichols, who only carried the ball seven times for 38 yards. McNichols will be the primary third-down back; he has 21 catches for 203 yards. Between McNichols and Peterson, the Titans could maintain a solid backfield; they could also bring in more help.
Peterson has rushed for 14,820 yards, made several Pro Bowls, and was named All-Pro seven times. Peterson won the NFL MVP in 2012 and led the NFL in rushing three times.
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