Adrian Peterson has had quite a career in the NFL.

He was tipped to be a future great running back and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings as the seventh overall pick of the 2007 draft.

11 years later and Peterson holds a huge number of personal awards from his time in the league. 

He's been to the Pro Bowl seven times, holds the NFL record for the most rushing yards in a single game (296) and he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year and MVP in 2012. 

And the 33-year-old didn't get to where he is by luck. Peterson is renowned for being one of the hardest working football players ever to step onto the field, so it's no surprise he's been a success. 

However, in recent years, his career hasn't exactly gone to plan. The running back was released by the Vikings in 2016, after 10 seasons with the team. 

Peterson moved on to sign a two-year deal with the New Orleans Saints but after starting only one of the first four games of the 2017 season - he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite making a strong start with Arizona, a neck injury meant he was sidelined for weeks 13 and 14 of the season before he was placed on injured reserve in December.

Two months ago, Peterson was released once again and is now currently a free agent.

RECOGNISING WORK 

Being a free agent will be very frustrating for anyone, but especially someone who works as hard as Peterson, who will now have to prove himself once again should another team pick him up.

His recognised work ethic will certainly be appealing to any franchise that's in the market for a new RB - but interestingly, Peterson has said there's one player who works even harder than him.

And it's someone he met during his short stint with the Saints - Drew Brees. 

"There’s one person that when you asked that question that stood out immediately," Peterson responded when asked if he has seen anyone with a greater work ethic than him, per NBC Sports.  

“It was Drew Brees. Being up there in New Orleans just for that short period of time, and just seeing him, man, I’m talking about clockwork.

“You see this guy out on the field two hours before practice and he’s going through his fundamentals. He’s in the weight room. He’s lifting."

Amazingly, last year, Brees even beat Peterson in a conditioning test - and that's something he still hasn't forgotten. 

"The funny thing is once we did our conditioning test, that’s probably the first time I ever lost a conditioning test.”

It's fantastic to see Peterson recognising the work ethic of another pro - and the attitude that Brees has shows exactly why he's still going strong in the NFL at the age of 39.