Saints explore options for Peterson

Adrian Peterson is learning what it’s like to play in an offense that won’t feature him.

Then again, this is exactly what arguably the greatest running back of his generation signed up for when he agreed to play with the New Orleans Saints and prolific passer Drew Brees.

“I think he’s looking forward to that,” Saints fullback John Kuhn said after Thursday’s voluntary offseason practice, the first with veterans that has been open to media this offseason. “Not to put words in his mouth, but everybody in here, especially on the offensive side, realizes that the more weapons that we have, the more explosive we can be.

“It’s a situation, I think, where we all look around and say, ‘If we all have success as a group, we’ll all have success individually,”’ Kuhn continued. “That can prolong careers. That can create accolades. That can do all kinds of different things for everybody.”

While players were in shorts and there was no tackling, Peterson appeared to be fit and largely recovered from knee and abductor injuries that sidelined him most of last season. He participated vigorously in the entirety of Thursday’s non-contact practice. Other than a fumbled a handoff exchange with backup quarterback Chase Daniel, he had few missteps and saw perhaps more action that he otherwise might have because incumbent starting running back Mark Ingram was held out for unspecified reasons.

The Saints seem inclined to explore whether Peterson might be more of a factor as a receiver out of the backfield than he has been during his first 10 NFL seasons. He caught several passes at practice — not just screens, but a few balls thrown farther downfield, along the sideline.

Just how serious coach Sean Payton is about making Peterson a regular receiving threat isn’t clear, but the Saints do have a history of running backs contributing regularly in the passing game in Payton’s offense, starting with Reggie Bush in 2006 and continuing with Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Ingram.

Payton said Peterson looks “comfortable catching the ball in space ... much the same way you’d expect Mark or any of those backs.”

DERICK E. HINGLE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Saints running back Adrian Peterson stretches before practice in Metairie, La., on May 25.