Adrian Peterson Says COVID-19 in NFL Is 'Always a Concern, but Work Is Work'

Washington Football Team running back Adrian Peterson said Tuesday that he has some concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but it won't stop him from playing this season.

Peterson discussed the situation with TMZ Sports (Beginning at 1:30 mark):

"Of course [COVID-19] is always a concern, but work is work," Peterson said. "We gotta do what we gotta do."

The 35-year-old Peterson is set to enter his third season in Washington after the team decided to retain him this offseason.

Peterson was expected to serve in a complementary role to Derrius Guice last season, but Guice had his season cut short because of injury for the second consecutive year and appeared in only five games.

As a result, Peterson once again led the team in rushing, as he rushed 211 times for 898 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns in 15 games. He also caught 17 passes for 142 yards, putting him over 1,000 total yards from scrimmage for the second consecutive season.

When Guice was lost for the entire 2018 season before it even started, Peterson was a late signing and stepped up to the tune of 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

While Peterson is best known for his 10-year run with the Minnesota Vikings, which yielded seven Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro nods and one NFL MVP award, he continues to show that he can be a useful commodity well into his 30s, which is a rare quality among running backs.

Peterson is set to enter the 2020 season with 14,216 career rushing yards and 111 career rushing touchdowns.

He is fifth on the all-time rushing yards list and is just over 1,000 yards away from surpassing Barry Sanders for fourth. He is fourth in rushing touchdowns and trails Marcus Allen by 12 touchdowns for third.

Several NFL players have already made the decision to opt out of the 2020 NFL seasons because of COVID-19-related concerns, but with training camps opening, it is clear that Peterson is ready and willing to go to work.  

Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.