Adrian Peterson, 38, hasn't retired, hopes to play one more season

Despite not playing the 2022 NFL season, Adrian Peterson is not retired.

The seven-time Pro Bowl running back was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007 and was the offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,341 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He last touched NFL turf in December of 2021 as a member of the Seattle Seahawks when he had 16 rushing yards and one score.

“Mentally, I haven’t officially hung it up,” Peterson, 38, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as he was in Dallas this week for the Eric Dickerson All-Star Invitational Golf Tournament. “We’ll see what happens. My mindset is, if God’s willing maybe an opportunity presents itself and maybe it happens this season. ... But (if) nothing happens this season, for sure, I will be hanging it up.”

In his time away from the gridiron, Peterson participated in an exhibition boxing match where he was knocked out by former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell.

During his playing days, Peterson also spent time on the Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans in his 15-year career. He's the only player in NFL history to score a touchdown with six different teams. His 2017 season was cut short due to a neck injury and he did not cross the end zone with New Orleans after being traded from the Cardinals.

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The former Oklahoma Sooner standout had eight seasons of 1,000 rushing yards or more and led the league in rushing yards three times, including when he rushed for 2,097 yards in the 2012 campaign with the Vikings. He was only the seventh running back in NFL history to cross the 2,000-yard mark.

Peterson once had aspirations of breaking Emmitt Smith's all-time rushing record, which stands at 18,355 yards. He is currently fifth with 14,918 yards and needs 351 more yards to tie Barry Sanders for fourth place. As the NFL turns more and more to a passing game — there wasn't a running back selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft — he acknowledges that the record is out of his reach.

“He set a standard there,” Peterson said of the Dallas Cowboys great. “You see why it’s been there for such a long time. I feel like I had the great opportunity to do it. Unfortunately, I experienced some hiccups throughout my career and you know, injuries and things like that, just wasn’t able to get there. So I think it’ll stand for a long time. And you know, maybe eventually someone or break it but when you look at see how the NFL is going now. It might might not happen."