It’s a good time to be associated with the Detroit Lions. A trip to the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and a 15-2 record last season have paved the way for them to be Super Bowl contenders again in 2025 and it’s inspired a wave of optimism rarely felt among Lions fans.
While the vibes are good now, they weren’t always this way. A string of futility made the Lions one of the NFL’s punching bags since the turn of the millennium and it compiled a strange group that has called Detroit home. One former running back has made a habit of finding his way into the news and his latest off-field stunt is just another embarrassment after leaving the Lions.
Adrian Peterson Agrees to Celebrity Boxing Match with Poker Adversary
According to a report by TMZ, Adrian Peterson has agreed to a celebrity boxing match with a man he got into a fight with during a poker game. Peterson and Joe Castaneda threw hands in a video that went viral at a social club in Houston, Texas last month and the two have chosen to take their issues to the ring according to Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman.
It’s another sign of how far Peterson has fallen. One of the greatest running backs in NFL history with 11,747 rushing yards, 97 touchdowns and the 2012 NFL MVP Award during his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2021 and his chapter resembled a football gypsy as he bounced around to six different teams after he was released following the 2016 season.
That included a one-year stay in Detroit when he ran for 604 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2020 season. But that year resembled his last productive year in the league and at age 40, he seems to have hit rock bottom.
The stretch of off-field incident began when he was suspended for the final 15 games of the 2014 season amid a charge for felony child abuse and has since spiraled into more issues after his career including failing to appear in court in child support cases, misdemeanor assault and driving while intoxicated arrest last April.
Although Peterson said he “felt really bad” about the situation and both men have mended the bridge, it hasn’t stopped him from chasing another bag after he was ordered to turn over assets to pay $12 million in debt in 2024. If Peterson gets knocked out like he did in his last boxing match by former All-Pro Le’Veon Bell, it could represent another all-time low for the future Hall of Famer.