Should the Seattle Seahawks sign Phillip Lindsay or Adrian Peterson?

Veteran running backs Phillip Lindsay and Adrian Peterson were released by their respective teams on Tuesday. Should the Seattle Seahawks sign either one?

Seattle needs help and depth at running back. Not that the Seahawks really use their running backs the way they should (more passes to them might be nice and just trying to establish a consistent run game would be even better), but assuming offensive coordinator Shane Waldron finally realizes that Seattle is pretty decent rushing the ball (Seattle is 14th in the NFL in yards-per-carry at 4.3) maybe Seattle does run more.

Alex Collins has been good when given the chance to rush but Seattle doesn’t seem to truly trust him much. Nor do they trust Travis Homer or DeeJay Dallas carrying the ball. I am not going to even bring up Rashaad Penny here. But maybe signing Phillip Lindsay or Adrian Peterson might make Seattle think of running more.

Both Lindsay and Peterson have been good backs in the NFL. Heck, Peterson is a future Hall of Famer and fifth on the all-time rushing list. Lindsay is still just 27 years old.

Seahawks could think about signing Phillip Lindsay or Adrian Peterson

Neither Lindsay nor Peterson have had good 2021 seasons, though. Peterson was signed to help replace Derrick Henry for the Titans and rushed the ball 27 times for 82 yards a touchdown. He wasn’t bad this past week, though, rushing for 40 yards on 9 carries. Still, what can you expect from a 36-year-old running back with 3,219 carries under his belt?

Plus, there’s the domestic situation from a few years ago between Peterson and his son that might put off some 12s.

Lindsay might be the better option. You can throw away his 2021 season because joining the Houston Texans this season just meant he was going to a team with an awful offensive line, even worse than Seattle’s. The Texans are last in the NFL in yards-per-rushing attempt at 3.2. That’s atrocious. Lindsay is averaging just 2.6 yards an attempt himself.

But in his three seasons with the Denver Broncos, Lindsay averaged 4.8 yards a carry and rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2018 and 2019. He can also catch the ball fairly well and had 35 receptions in both 2018 and 2019. It should also be noted that Lindsay has never fumbled in his career.

So if the Seahawks were going to sign Lindsay or Peterson, Lindsay would be the wiser choice. But then Seattle would have to use him correctly and throw passes his way as well. There is no evidence to support that this current Seattle offense knows how to use its running backs well. The bottom line is that Seattle should pass on both Lindsay and Peterson because the team is 3-7 and should just save its money for this offseason because this season is already lost.