Peterson to wear Cardinals’ No. 23 jersey, formerly Johnson’s

Oct 11, 2017, 11:14 AM | Updated: 4:01 pm

Adrian Peterson will wear No. 23 on his back for the Arizona Cardinals, taking the jersey number formerly worn by running back Chris Johnson, who was waived Tuesday upon the news of Arizona acquiring Peterson from the New Orleans Saints.

RB @AdrianPeterson will wear No. 23. #BeRedSeeRed pic.twitter.com/yIzCJUGBoQ

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 11, 2017

Peterson had worn the No. 28 jersey in 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and four games played for the Saints this year, but he apparently went a different direction with Arizona cornerback Justin Bethel currently wearing the No. 28 jersey.

“We had a conversation. It didn’t last long at all,” Peterson said of talking about convincing Bethel to switch jersey numbers. “Bethel, he’s a guy that I’ve watched and I appreciate. He’s kind of one of those guys that’s came from the bottom that has made a name from himself, a hard worker. He represents that number well. If it was another guy, I probably would’ve been tougher in there.”

Johnson attempted to accept his release in stride on Tuesday, but it came with an ironic twist before the news of Peterson taking his jersey number.

Coincidentally, Johnson lost his job to Peterson a month after going to Twitter to push for the Saints to give Peterson, who only took 27 carries over four games, more opportunities.