Lions running back Kerryon Johnson has gone from competing against one of his football heroes to sharing a backfield with him. It’s hard to overstate the type of cache newcomer Adrian Peterson has with the Lions running back room, especially Johnson.
“He’s going to be a for-sure Hall-of-Famer and I get to sit next to him in meetings,” Johnson said via the Detroit Free Press. “And he’s trying to learn things from me and I’m trying to learn things from him. But I’m like, ‘What do I have to offer?’ You know what I’m saying? Just because he’s been there, done everything that I can say. So it’s very weird.”
One area where Peterson still astonishes is his physical condition. For his age and the mileage on his legs, Peterson still looks remarkably spry in practices. Or, as Johnson tells it,
“How is he still running? What is he, (14) years in the league or something like that? ACL surgery and here and there whatever bumps and bruises he’s gone through. And I mean, he’s still running, he’s still explosive. We go to walk-through, I mean he’s dang near running in the walk-through.”
That’s an inspirational influence on a player like Johnson, who has missed 19 of the 32 games over the last two seasons with various injuries. Johnson admitted he’s asked Peterson about how he can remain in such great shape.