While most of us may never know what was said during the heated sideline exchange between Saints running back Adrian Peterson and coach Sean Payton during New Orleans’ loss Monday night at Minnesota, Peterson doesn’t seem happy with the amount of playing time he got.
"I didn’t sign up for nine snaps … but unfortunately that’s the way the game played out," Peterson told the New Orleans Advocate.
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Of the nine plays Peterson was in for, he carried the ball six times for 18 yards, and there was a statistical symmetry among him and the Saints’ other two tailbacks — Alvin Kamara had seven carries for 19 yards, and Mark Ingram had six carries for 17 yards. Kamara, though, played 31 of the team's 62 offensive snaps, and Ingram was in for 26 plays.
While AP obviously wants the ball more, perhaps he’s coming to terms with sharing the load this season.
"In my mind, personally, I knew it was gonna take some adjusting,” he said. “You know, me and Mark played in the last preseason game, AK didn’t even play that game. So with all three of us being out there, I knew it would take a game or so to kind of get adjusted."
Surely, the fact Peterson was playing against his former team added to the drama, and he says he's looking back on the sideline situation with Payton with levity.
"It was definitely overdramatized," Peterson said. "Of course, with the heat of the game, me being back in Minnesota and things like that, just catching that look — that intense look on my face, like I had — I actually got some laughs out of some of the memes that were made."
The Vikings play at the Steelers on Sunday.