Chicago Bears Rumors: Pros and cons of signing Adrian Peterson

2. Cons

While Peterson would indeed bring experience, leadership and yes, even depth, to the Bears running backs, there are plenty of reasons to shy away from him. For starters, he is no where near what the new-age NFL running back needs to be.

Sure, Peterson is a banger and could provide a boost in short yardage situations. But, Peterson has never made his living off of catching the football. He’s a pure runner, first. And, at age 35, there is reason to believe he is just about done providing any true value at the position.

Since his rookie year in 2007, Peterson has only eclipsed 40 receptions twice — and only four times has he gone over 30. To put it into even greater perspective, he’s caught just six receiving touchdowns in his illustrious career. Simply and blatantly: Peterson will not help on passing downs, ever.

Looking at last year, too, Peterson was hardly effective. An average of 4.3 yards per carry is nothing spectacular, but not awful either. Yet, in eight of his 16 games played, he fell below 4.0 yards per carry. Worse yet, in six of his games last year he fell below 3.0 yards per carry. Many of his yards came on a few chunk runs, but for the most part, he wasn’t a factor.

Going back to the passing game, he only caught 17 balls last year. The Bears need someone who is comfortable and efficient at catching the football to pair with Montgomery, or whomever else is in the back field. Nagy’s offense is not cut out for a back like Peterson.