Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel: Rotation with Adrian Peterson, others still being decided

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Monday he looks forward to seeing where his new cast of running backs is headed.

Vrabel said the manner in which Adrian Peterson, D'Onta Foreman and Jeremy McNichols were used in Sunday night's 28-16 win over the L.A. Rams may not necessarily be the same going forward as the Titans deal with the loss of the NFL's leading rusher Derrick Henry.

Peterson, the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher, and Foreman joined the team last week after Henry underwent surgery for a foot injury.

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Vrabel said the backs were used against the Rams based on the flow of the game, and that could change with the staff having more time this week to assess their individual strengths and weaknesses as the Titans (7-2) head into Sunday's game (noon, CBS) against the New Orleans Saints (5-3) at Nissan Stadium.

"We'll see where that goes this week," Vrabel said. "I think they all did some things well and there's some things they'll have to look at and improve. And obviously we'll have to be able to block better for everybody. That's all a part of it."

The trio combined for 74 total yards, which was 43 yards fewer than Henry averaged through the first eight games.

Peterson started and had 21 yards on 10 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Foreman came in next and had five carries for 29 yards and McNichols, for the most part, stuck to his role primarily as a third-down back and rushed for 24 yards on seven carries and had three catches for 11 yards.

Vrabel said Peterson played well after having not been on the field since the 2020 season, but added that he can be better.

"It's a new system for him, new terminology, new blockers in front of him," Vrabel said. "He had some good strong runs and probably a couple of cuts in there that he would like to have back. I'm sure there were of couple blocks that we'd like to have back that need to be better."

No matter what the rotation ends up being, Vrabel said Peterson, Foreman and McNichols will each play a significant role and continue to be counted on.

"All three of those guys played a role and made some plays that helped us win," Vrabel said. "Jeremy did that catching the ball, screens, good runs. DeOnta had a couple of good runs and obviously Adrian was able to help us get into the end zone"

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans coach Mike Vrabel: rotation with Adrian Peterson being worked on