Adrian Peterson could be inactive Sunday

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Washington running back Adrian Peterson may not play in Sunday’s season opener in Philadelphia.

After previously saying that the running game will go through Derrius Guice, head coach Jay Gruden today didn’t rule out the possibility that Peterson could be inactive.

“We haven’t decided that yet,” Gruden said when asked if Peterson could be inactive. “We’ll make the determination come Sunday.”

Gruden said the team doesn’t yet know who its 46 active players will be, but he indicated that it’s possible they’ll go with just two running backs, and in that case Guice would be the starter and Chris Thompson, who’s a better receiver than Peterson, would likely be the backup. If Washington goes with three active running backs, the newly arrived Wendell Smallwood may get the nod ahead of Peterson because Smallwood is a good special teams player. Only if four running backs are active would Peterson definitely be one of them.

In 2017, Peterson signed with the Saints but didn’t last long in New Orleans after expressing frustration with a lack of playing time. Whether the same thing happens in Washington remains to be seen, but it sounds like Peterson won’t get many carries — and may not play at all.