Jay Gruden Pretty Much Takes Shot at Adrian Peterson Over Questionable Healthy Scratch

The majority of NFL fans awoke to the news of running back Adrian Peterson being relegated to the sidelines prior to the Washington Redskins' season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. It marked the first time that Peterson was ruled a healthy scratch in his entire 15-year career.

At the conclusion of the game, Gruden justified the decision to bench Peterson, claiming it was an attempt to bolster their special teams roster to prepare for Darren Sproles, supposing that the running game would run through Derrius Guice.

But this explanation didn't come without an apparent shot at Peterson.

"He's a first and second-down back. So is Derrius," Gruden said, via The Washington Post. "So, really, what do we have? About 20 first downs a game. Probably eight of those are passes, 12 of those might be runs, and Derrius can handle those 12. So if we have a game where we think we can run the ball 55 times in a game in an I-formation, then sure, I'll get him up."

An interesting choice of words for Gruden.

Washington entered the game with Guice, Chris Thompson, and Wendell Smallwood in the running game. Guice rushed for just 18 yards on seven carries, while Thompson ran for 10 yards on three carries.

This was new territory for Peterson, who mentioned that he would make the best of the situation.

"I don't think I've kind of grasped it yet," Peterson said of sitting, via The Washington Post. "It's my first time ever being inactive, a healthy scratch. It was tough, of course. I'm a super competitor. I've been thinking about playing these guys since last year since the season ended and they broke us off. So it was tough not being out there, so I just have to make the best out of the situation, and in that way, I just become a coach on the sideline. Helping the guys out as much as I could, and cheering for the guys as well."

It's a confusing decision of Washington. If they're adamant on running the ball through Guice, then why keep Adrian Peterson on the roster at all? It will be an interesting situation to keep an eye on, and we'll need to see if there's some sort of exit for Peterson, similar to his trade from the New Orleans Saints in 2017.