Ex-Viking Alex Boone: Adrian Peterson is 'why you shouldn't meet your heroes'
Former Vikings offensive lineman Alex Boone had some choice words for ex-teammate Adrian Peterson.
Boone, who's now an on-air contributor for SKOR North (1500 AM) in the Twin Cities, told Matthew Coller of Purple Daily about how disappointing it was to be Peterson's teammate in 2016.
“Adrian Peterson to me was the definition of why you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Ever,” Boone said. “And I’m a firm believer of that because after I had met Adrian I was so disappointed."
The former lineman was a six-year veteran of the San Fransisco 49ers where he was around another decorated running back in Frank Gore, and he said it set a standard for him that Peterson never lived up to.
"I had played with Frank Gore for so long and I had known Frank and the way he was and every single day he was going to show up at 5:30 (a.m.) and be there to get work done on his legs and workout. He knew that if guys saw him there at 5:30 and didn’t see him leave till 9 at night they would take that (to mean) they had to be there," said Boone.
"He was so right and I loved Frank for that because he made a team that was an average team so much better. Adrian was the opposite. Adrian was a very self-centered player and it bothered me. Not only that but to have your dad throw shade on us the year after you leave. Dude are you serious right now?”
Boone went on to tell a story from the week of a late-season game against the Colts in 2016.
“I know that no one ever has talked about this and I know it’s never come up,” Boone said, “I’m going to tell you right now that that Colts game, he should be embarrassed for himself for how he played and how that game ended. I’m not kidding you. I’ve never been around an NFL player that I was so embarrassed for and ashamed of at the same time. I was like, ‘Dude, are you really being for real right now?’
"He pulled himself out of the game. He ran the wrong way on a power and fumbled the ball and blamed it on the (offensive) line. He was like, ‘It’s your fault, it was the o-line’s fault.’ Dude, you left in the first quarter. Like what? Where were you? We started to mount a comeback."
For those who remember that contest, the Vikings' 34-6 loss basically killed their playoff chances and was a black eye on a season in which they started 5-0, only to miss the postseason all together.
“You fumbled the ball. This is how it’s going to be?" Boone continued. "And after that every time you talked to him he was so done. If anyone remembers, we started that year 5-0 and even we were like what is wrong with Adrian? He’s not acting like himself, and everybody was just so weird that year and it was just not right and meeting him has ruined me forever.”
Peterson, who suffered a meniscus tear in Week 2 of the 2016 season, returned from the injury before the Colts game only to rush for 22 yards on six carries, including a fumble. That turned out to be the last game the former MVP ever played in a Vikings uniform.
Similar to Peterson, Boone was also cut at the end of the year, spending just one season with the team after inking a four-year, $26.8 million contract.
Peterson has spent time with the Saints, Cardinals and Redskins since departing from Minnesota. He's still Minnesota's all-time leading rusher and he'll return to U.S. Bank Stadium for the second time since leaving the Vikings this Thursday when Washington comes to town.
