The Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones may be preparing to make one of the biggest moves in recent NFL history.
Suspended running back Adrian Peterson, expected by many to return to the Minnesota Vikings next season, may instead be headed elsewhere.
Despite his legal troubles, he's far and away the best running back in the entirety of the NFL, having amassed 10,190 yards and 86 touchdowns rushing on 2,054 carries in eight seasons in the league.
The Vikings have said they want him back, and, according to Adam Schefter, that would be the case if there were no legal issues.
"The Vikings would like him back -- they've made that fairly clear -- but Peterson might not be entirely comfortable returning to Minnesota," reported Schefter.
According to Schefter's league sources, it seems increasingly unlikely that Peterson will return to the fold for the Vikings next year, and at least "half a dozen" teams have already done background work on the star running back.
Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reports that one team, the Cowboys, may have already pulled ahead of the pack in terms of their interest in acquiring Peterson.
"Well I'm talking to multiple sources including one very close to the Cowboys thinking and one very close to Adrian Peterson. The thinking is, Peterson could be a target for the Cowboys this offseason. Despite his high price tag, the thinking is he may be willing to take less money to come back to Texas, where he was born and raised and play for the Cowboys," reported Cole.
There has been reported contact between the two sides in the past, but nothing substantive. The Cowboys already have DeMarco Murray, this season's leading rusher in the NFL, on the roster. But he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent and the team has been quiet on his future.
According to Cole, this is because Jones and the Cowboys are not interested in paying the price that Murray is expected to command.
But now, with Jones' sights set squarely on a Super Bowl berth next season, he may view Peterson as the new centerpiece to making that dream a reality.
