Alex Smith and Adrian Peterson sat a few feet away from each other

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(AP) — r as fresh-faced college players at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York in late 2005 and never imaged this would happen.Twelve NFL seasons later for Smith and 11 for Peterson and they’re now in the same backfield together with the Washington Redskins.The 34-year-old quarterback acquired by trade in February and 33-year-old running back signed off the street during the preseason have each been around the block a few times and now bear the expectations of trying to get Washington back to the playoffs.“I think the sky’s the limit,” Peterson said. “I feel like we can really be an explosive offense.”For a team that has embraced continuity, including coach Jay Gruden going into his fifth season, the turnover from Kirk Cousins and a running game by committee to Smith and Peterson represents a huge shift.The Redskins believe Smith will better be able to command the offense that includes Peterson, now-healthy tight end Jordan Reed, receivers Josh Doctson, Jamison Crowder and Paul Richardson and third down back Chris Thompson.From the first day of training camp, Smith has looked the part as the long-term answer at quarterback the way Cousins never did because of his predecessor’s series of one-year deals. It helped that the Redskins signed Smith to a $94 million, four-year extension to make him their man.Likewise, Peterson took only a couple of days of practice to look as if he passed Samaje Perine and Rob Kelley as the top running back after second-round pick Derrius Guice tore the ACL in his left knee and changed the franchise’s course for this season.Smith is coming off the best season of his career when he threw for 4,042 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions with Kansas City. He doesn’t want to label this his so-called “prime,” but Smith appears to be in the midst of it.“I still feel like my best football is ahead of me certainly,” Smith said. “I still feel like I have been ascending. I still feel like I haven’t reached my potential which pushes me, challenges me to continue to strive to get better. I still feel like I am a young 34-year old and I do have a lot of ball ahead of me.”Peterson has a lot of tread on the tires as the 12th-leading rusher in NFL history and had his past two seasons cut short by injuries. One workout was enough for Gruden to believe Peterson still had something left, and 11 carries for 56 yards in his preseason debut showed everyone else a glimpse of the 2012 league MVP who ran roughshod in purple for so many years with Minnesota.“Having him on the team, it’s a joy,” said left tackle Trent Williams, a longtime friend of Peterson’s dating to their time together at Oklahoma. “It’s a dream come true. I’m happy to see him, and I know we’ll open up some lanes for him. So I know he’s going to shine.”Peterson will occasionally catch younger running backs staring at him in disbelief and is proud he inspired some of them with his career. Smith similarly has the resume to earn immediate respect from teammates, who are ready to line up with him and Peterson to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season.“They both are very respected veterans in this league for a reason, for their work ethic and playing abilities,” Reed said. “We’ve got two great players on our team, and they’re perfect fits for what we need.”Some things to watch with the Redskins this season:ROLL TIDEThe run defense and pass rush should be much-improved with second-year lineman Jonathan Allen healthy and the addition of Alabama teammate Daron Payne, the 13th overall pick in the draft. Allen had his rookie season cut short by a foot injury, and Payne didn’t miss a step after injuring his left ankle early in camp.“He’s a big-time player,” linebacker Mason Foster said of Payne. “Really athletic, has a great grasp with the defense already. Just a physical freak so, playing behind him is going to be great.”DIFFERENCE-MAKING NORMANJosh Norman is going into the third year of a $75 million contract with just three interceptions for the Redskins and none last season. His abilities as a cover cornerback are unquestioned and mean he gets fewer opportunities, but Norman also dropped a handful of potential interceptions in 2017 and is being counted on — and paid — to make that kind of a difference in a young secondary.“It’s just that six inches from making a play to not making a play,” Norman said. “Touching (your) hands, DB rules you got to have it.”THOMPSON THREATWith a combined 804 yards and six touchdowns rushing and receiving, Thompson was Washington’s secret option last season before breaking his fibula in November. Thompson is still trying to overcome the mental hurdle about making cuts on his right leg, but just being on the field is a plus.“Chris Thompson is a key asset to our offense,” linebacker Preston Smith said. “He’s a great (running) back, he brings a lot of different tools to the offense.”SLOW STARTERSThe Redskins are 0-4 in season openers under Gruden, who was also criticized for their performance in a potential win-and-get-in game against the New York Giants who had nothing to play for in Week 17 in 2016. Gruden played it safe in the preseason by resting players coming off injuries to avoid a similar problem to a year ago, but with a difficult schedule on paper, Washington needs a strong start at Arizona and against Indianapolis to contend for the playoffs. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The coaches and players who have departed the Washington Redskins have not always been complimentary of their time with a franchise that has experienced its share of dysfunction over the past two decades.Kirk Cousins conceivably could have joined that chorus of critics, a cacophony amplified just last week by Kyle Shanahan. After all, the team’s disinterest in giving him a longer-term, market-rate contract left Cousins as the rare starting quarterback playing on a one-year deal for two seasons in a row before becoming a free agent and signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.That’s not his style, though, nor is it his story.Article continues below ...“Honestly for me, when I think of my time in Washington, I just think of the word gratitude. I’m so grateful that I was drafted by them,” Cousins said.The fourth-round selection in 2012 out of Michigan State finally became a full-timer in his fourth year, after second overall pick Robert Griffin III flamed out.“They picked me when nobody else did. I was sitting around waiting for a phone call for 2½ days,” Cousins said. “I was given an opportunity to start when there weren’t many people outside of that building who thought I should.”Cousins will face his former team for the first time on Thursday night https://www.theredskinslockerroom.com/authentic-terry-mclaurin-jersey , when the surging Vikings (5-2) host the reeling Redskins (1-6). As fate would have it, the player Cousins replaced, Case Keenum, now has his old job.After a one-year stop in Denver, Keenum was traded to Washington. He will visit U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time since the “Minneapolis Miracle” pass he completed to Stefon Diggs for the winning touchdown on the final play of Minnesota’s divisional round game against New Orleans after the 2017 season that was a career best for the longtime backup.“There’s not enough time to reminisce,” Keenum said. “It’s a special time, a special play, a special group of guys, something I’ll remember forever, but not necessarily this week.”Like his successor in purple, naturally, the significance of playing against his old team was mostly an afterthought for Keenum. Even if there were actually some lingering bitterness fueling extra motivation, well, neither of them would acknowledge it.“I’ve played long enough to where I feel like if I keep going like I’m going I might play against my old team every week,” Keenum said. “It’s adding up now, so it’s just a normal game for me.”QUARTERBACK CAROUSELWhen the Redskins let Cousins leave as a free agent after trading for Alex Smith and signing him to a contract extension, they thought they’d stabilized the quarterback position. Instead, because of Smith’s broken leg and assorted other chaos, they have played six and started five different quarterbacks over the 23 games they’ve played since Cousins left.Smith, longtime backup Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, Josh Johnson and Keenum have all started at least one game. Rookie Dwayne Haskins, their first-round draft pick this year, appeared in relief. Cousins started all 48 regular-season games from 2015-2017. Keenum has been interim coach Bill Callahan’s choice since he stepped in more than two weeks ago for the fired Jay Gruden, who preferred McCoy.“I made it known back then when Kirk was here: We both talked about playing together for years. But things happen,” running back Chris Thompson said.ALL DAY IS STILL ALL RIGHTThe reunion theme on Thursday is not just for quarterbacks. Redskins running back Adrian Peterson has already played at Minnesota since his 10-season run with the Vikings ended, but the return of the franchise’s all-time leading rusher will still be a big part of the show.Particularly since Callahan has steered the offense toward a throwback strategy, with Peterson carrying the ball 43 times for 199 yards over the past two games. With 60 rushing yards, Peterson would pass Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson to land in sixth place on the NFL’s all-time list.An ankle injury has him listed as questionable, but there’s little doubt that he’ll try to play.“I was there for a decade and still to this day, I have fans that follow me,” Peterson said. “I have fans that come to Redskins games that are die-hard Vikings fans because they’re Adrian Peterson fans. The love is always going to be there.”THIELEN’S HURTCousins didn’t miss a beat last week after two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen left the game in Detroit because of a hamstring injury that occurred during his first-quarter touchdown catch.Whether going deep to Diggs, toward the sideline to rookie wide receiver Olabisi Johnson, or underneath to tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr., Cousins had plenty of options that will have to remain viable again this week while Thielen sits out for the first time in his NFL career. He has played in 90 consecutive games, including three in the playoffs.THIRD TO NONEOne sure sign of a struggling team is a lack of success on third down, and the Redskins are checking that box on both sides of the ball. The defense has allowed opponents to convert 49.5% of their opportunities, the third-worst rate in the league. On offense, they’re second to last at 24.7%, with penalties a significant problem. Washington has been flagged 71 times for 434 yards, nullifying 157 yards that otherwise would have been gained.“Having those third downs that are third-and-2, third-and-3, third-and-4, and not those third-and-10 third downs, make a difference a lot,” right tackle Morgan Moses said. “We’ve just got to continue doing what we do: handing the ball off, running the ball, putting ourselves in the best position possible.”