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Free-agent RB Adrian Peterson heaps praise on Saints QB Drew Brees

By The Sports Xchange
Former New Orleans Saints running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs the ball against the Houston Texans on August 26, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI
Former New Orleans Saints running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs the ball against the Houston Texans on August 26, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI | License Photo

Free-agent running back Adrian Peterson was impressed by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' work ethic despite being teammates for just a short period of time.

"There's one person that when you asked that question that stood out immediately. It was Drew Brees," the 33-year-old Peterson said when asked if he has played with anyone who exceeded his work ethic, per The Times-Picayune.

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"Being up there in New Orleans just for that short period of time, and just seeing him, man, I'm talking about clockwork," Peterson added. "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. He's cut up. The funny thing is once we did our conditioning test, that's probably the first time I ever lost a conditioning test."

Brees, 39, set an NFL record for completion percentage (72.0) last season despite throwing for his fewest yards (4,334), touchdowns (23) and interceptions (eight) in his 12 seasons with the Saints.

A former Super Bowl MVP and 11-time Pro Bowl selection, Brees needs 1,496 yards to break Peyton Manning's record of 71,940 passing yards. He needs 52 more touchdown passes to break Manning's NFL record of 539.

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Brees has thrown for 70,445 yards with 488 touchdown passes and 228 interceptions in 248 career contests since being a second-round selection in the 2001 NFL Draft by the then-San Diego Chargers.

Peterson has put up some impressive statistics as well.

Ranking 12th on the career-leading rushing list with 12,276 yards, Peterson is three yards behind Marshall Faulk and 36 shy of Jim Brown at No. 10.

Peterson rushed for more than 1,200 yards in seven of his 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, including a career-best 2,097 in his MVP campaign in 2012. He also rushed for 97 of his 99 career touchdowns with the Vikings.

Minnesota declined to pick up Peterson's option for the 2017 season and he signed a two-year contract with the Saints last April. He saw sparse action with New Orleans but racked up a pair of 100-yard games for the Arizona Cardinals and finished as the team's leading rusher with 448 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

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