The Minnesota Vikings reportedly are considering trading running back Adrian Peterson, whom authorities charged with child abuse on Friday. The New York Post reported Minnesota won't release Peterson and, if anything, would rather trade him.
Minnesota reinstated Peterson after deactivating him for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. While the Vikings said publicly they will wait for the outcome of the legal process, Bart Hubbuch of The Post reported Monday the team would consider dealing Peterson if "uglier details" of the alleged abuse surfaced.
Per Hubbuch:
"(Peterson) could be on the trading block if even uglier details emerge from his felony child abuse case in Houston, The Post has learned. An NFL source familiar with the thinking of the Vikings' ownership group said Sunday the only certainty is Peterson won't be released because of his shocking indictment Friday afternoon.
"But everything else - including the long-shot possibility of a trade - is still on the table after the Minnesota star was arrested and jailed over the weekend for allegedly injuring his 4-year-old son last May by brutally beating him with a thin tree limb while the child was naked."
The incident allegedly occurred in May outside of Peterson's home in Texas. Authorities claim Peterson disciplined his four-year-old son by striking him with a thin tree branch, according to ABC News. A doctor, who was concerned about how badly the child was bleeding, reported the incident.
Peterson acknowledged disciplining his son but insisted he never meant to cause serious harm.
"I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser," Peterson said Monday in a statement, via ABC News. "... I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen."
If convicted, Peterson could face up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
