Saints trade Peterson to Cardinals for conditional 2018 6th-round pick

The New Orleans Saints traded former league MVP Adrian Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday.

In return, the Saints received a conditional 2018 sixth-round draft pick, league sources informed ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"We are always on the lookout for opportunities to improve our team and we look at this as one of those opportunities," Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said in a statement.

The Saints scooped up the free agent this offseason but used him sparingly through the first four weeks of the season. Peterson had games of just six, eight, nine, and four carries, and has 81 total rushing yards.

The future Hall of Famer has had to fight for snaps among a group of running backs that includes Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara.

Peterson's displeasure with his usage was apparent immediately. He made his feelings known after getting just six carries for 18 yards in a revenge game against the Minnesota Vikings in the opening week of the season, stating afterward that he "didn't sign up for nine snaps."

His situation didn't improve in the three games that followed.

As for the Cardinals, they lost all-purpose running back David Johnson to a dislocated wrist in Week 1. The team signed Chris Johnson after the younger Johnson went down, but released the veteran Tuesday to make room for Peterson.

Peterson is 32 years old and coming off a season in which he was limited to three games. However, at 2-3 and a game behind both the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the division, the Cardinals are hoping to revive a fading offense.

The Cardinals own the worst rushing offense in the league so far, averaging only 51.8 yards on the ground per game.

And with 37-year-old quarterback Carson Palmer at the helm, Arizona has scored just 81 points in five games, ranking 29th in the league in points per game.