Minnesota Vikings Adrian Peterson has lofty goals, but none is loftier than Emmitt Smith's NFL career rushing record. The reigning league MVP said he pass Smith during the 2017 season, and even has a date in mind, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Peterson, 28, rushed for 2,097 yards last season, eight yards fewer than Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105. His goal for this season is to reach 2,500 yards.
As for Smith's mark of 18,355 yards, Peterson told the paper that he can get there by Week 16 of the 2017 season, well ahead of his current pace of Week 4 of 2019.
Peterson currently has 8,849 yards. By his estimate, he would need to average 120.3 yards per game over a 79-game span to collect the 9,507 yards needed.
"Whoo. That's pushing it, huh? But hey, pushing it is the only way to do it. You know it," he told the Star-Tribune.
---The quietest New Orleans Saints' offseason in years remained that way through the early stages of training camp, thanks to fourth-year tight end Jimmy Graham.
With 215 receptions and 25 touchdowns in his first three seasons, Graham has clearly out-performed the rookie contract he signed in 2010 and will likely become the highest-paid tight end either this fall or next spring.
But while some players in his situation would have at least been tempted to hold out and skip training camp to get a contract extension to ensure his long-term financial security, Graham reported on time last week.
Despite watching fellow tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez from the same draft class get huge deals that average around $8 million per season, Graham is scheduled to earn $1.323 million in base salary this season after making $540,000 a year ago.
If a new contract and financial security is on his mind, the 6-foot-7, 260-pound Graham isn't showing it. Through the first few days of camp, he politely took every question about his contract status in stride.
"Whenever that happens, it's going to happen," Graham said of a new contract. "I'm not too concerned about it. I know if I do what I do on the field and I keep being productive and help this team win, I'm going to be taken care of."
And it's clear he doesn't want it to become a distraction.
"I'm just here to play football," he said. "I don't really worry about all of that stuff. It will take care of itself."
The Saints have to appreciate that kind of talk, but they fully realize they're going to have to sign Graham to a long-term deal, perhaps soon, or franchise him next March.
At the outset of camp, general manager Mickey Loomis said it's a possibility the deal could get done before free agency begins. At the same time, he noted he hasn't seen any sign of frustration from Graham about not having a new deal.
Meanwhile, Graham will just go about his job every day.
"To each his own," he said of not holding out. "I'm the type of player that it's just about football. I just want to play. It's as simple as that."
---While New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick continues to dance around how he'll employ Tim Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner appears to be settling in at quarterback, according to a Boston Globe report.
"Ninety-nine percent of Tebow's activity during his time with the Patriots has been spent learning to play quarterback in the team's system," writes the Globe's Ben Volin. "He has only spent time in the quarterback meeting room, he wears a red non-contact jersey on the field and he runs the third-team offense during team drills."
Tebow does log minutes during each practice catching passes with the skill-position players, though offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told the paper Monday that Tebow does that because, as a scrambling quarterback, he'll have chances to carry the ball.
"He's just practicing his open-field running," McDaniels said. "Matt Cassel and (Doug) Flutie and some of those other guys I've had a chance to coach, I think we did the same types of things with them. And again we know Tim has a skill set that some of these other guys don't possess in terms of his ability to run with it, scramble with it when he has it in his hands."
For his part, Belichick barely shed any light on the subject.
"I think that we'll use Tim wherever we feel like he's best for the team, and I know that's what he's committed to doing as well," Belichick told reporters last week. "Whatever that is."
---Trey Dolezal, the attorney for former NFL quarterback Vince Young, said a Houston judge could rule to uphold a restraining order filed to prevent further assessment of Young's assets.
"Judge Matthews has the ball," Dolezal told The Sports Xchange by phone Tuesday, referring to Harris County District Court Judge Sylvia Matthews in Houston. "There has been no order for an auction or collection of assets."
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