Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been the subject of rebuke by many over this NFL season. Now, he's a possible source of redemption.
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman made it known that the team would very much like Peterson back on the field for them in 2015.
"I don't know if there's a team in the NFL that wouldn't want Adrian Peterson on the football team," Spielman told members of the media yesterday. "If you can name me one. And I don't want to speak for other teams. I'm being a little sarcastic with that. But I know he's a pretty good football player."
Those are more encouraging comments than Peterson has been faced with in the past. For a time, it looked as if Minnesota was preparing to move on from Peterson one way or the other. Now, it seems as if the franchise's stance has softened as Spielman continued to leave the door open for the former MVP's return.
"I think people tend to forget that when Adrian did make a mistake, he admitted he made a mistake," Spielman said. "He went through the process in the court system. He's currently suspended by the NFL right now, but he's done a lot of positive things in this community as well.
"I've known Adrian his whole career and what type of person Adrian is. But I also know that we have to follow everything that's put in place for us. Is there a resolution? Not right now. All I know is where we stand today. Does that change? I'm sure it's going to change. Until those things change and get resolved, right now, we have Adrian Peterson, who is under contract for next year, who is currently suspended by the NFL. That's pretty much all I can go into right now."
Peterson is eligible to be reinstated on April 15, though he was hoping for an earlier potential return date in order to sort out his NFL future. While the Vikings are saying all of the right things, it's clear that Peterson's 2015 salary cap figure of $15.4 million is a point of uncertainty for them.
"I'm not going to get into anything from a business-related standpoint with not only his, but any player's contract," Spielman said when asked about Peterson's sizable chunk in Minnesota's cap space. "That's stuff we've always handled internally. I will always keep the business side of players contract internal."
Peterson will turn 30 this year, a usual breaking point for running backs. However, Peterson is anything but a usual running back. He returned from an ACL tear to rush for over 2,000 yards and snag an MVP award.
"The only thing I would say about Adrian is Adrian is maybe one of the most unique players I've ever been around," Spielman said. "Everybody talked about how he's not going to be the same after his ACL. And that was his best year, coming back from that.
"Knowing Adrian, I know that he is going to want to come back and play. He's going to play at a very high level when he comes back. I'm anticipating that, just knowing what he's done in the past."
The Vikings finished this past season third in the NFC North at 7-9.
