Adrian Peterson Reportedly Traded to Cardinals from Saints for Draft Pick

Adrian Peterson's New Orleans Saints career is over after four games.

The Saints reportedly traded the future Hall of Famer to the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday, prematurely ending a relationship that never really got off the ground, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported New Orleans will receive a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2018 draft as part of the trade.

Peterson, 32, finished with 81 yards on 27 carries and never fit in a running back rotation where he was sometimes the third wheel. Frustration mounted early and often for Peterson, who was seen yelling on the sidelines at coach Sean Payton in Week 1.

Arizona will have to pay the remainder of Peterson's $1 million base salary this season. Including his $2.5 million signing bonus, the Saints paid him nearly $3 million for just 29 touches.

"I didn't sign up for nine snaps, though. But unfortunately that's the way the game played out," Peterson told reporters after Week 1. "In my mind, personally, I knew it was gonna take some adjusting."

The adjustments never came. Peterson never received more than nine carries or gained more than 37 total yards as a Saint. Mark Ingram was clearly the more effective runner, and Alvin Kamara made big plays in the passing game. Peterson's contributions were mostly a series of ineffective short runs.

While the fit was always a bit awkward, it's fair to wonder if Peterson is done as a starting-caliber NFL running back. He spent most of last season on the shelf with a knee injury and hasn't flashed much burst with his limited carries in 2017.

There's credence to the fact that Peterson never got his body into a rhythm because of his minimal playing time, but there isn't a team that's going to give him 20 carries a game at this point.

The Cardinals are hoping it was more schematic issues than skill erosion. He should receive more consistent action in a backfield that's without starter David Johnson due to a serious wrist injury.