Make me an offer I can't refuse.
While it's pretty difficult to image Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman reprising Marlon Brando's role in The Godfather - Spielman doesn't exactly possess the same level of gravitas, plus the whole trim, glasses and a tie look doesn't really paint the right picture either - that quote seems to perfectly sum up the Vikings' approach to the Adrian Peterson situation.
Spielman recently reiterated that, as far as he is concerned, Peterson is and will continue to remain a member of the Vikings organization.
"Adrian is under contract and a member of our football team," Spielman said, per Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "We've stated that, our owner has stated it, our head coach has stated it. There is no question that we want Adrian Peterson back on our football team."
A report emerged Thursday via Peterson's agent, Ben Dogra, that the Vikings had made it clear they would not be releasing the All Pro running back.
Done deal, right? Peterson remains a Viking and all the crazy conspiracy theorists surmising that the bruising ball carrier could eventually wind up elsewhere can shut off their laptops and slink back to their respective holes. Right?
Right!?
What's interesting though, as Hartman and Ben Goessling of ESPN note, is that Dogra and Spielman may both have been choosing their words particularly carefully when discussing what has evolved into a very delicate situation.
No mention of trades was made by either man. Instead, they each stated simply that Peterson wouldn't be released.
Was it a tactic to, in fact, drum up trade interest in Peterson?
"If the Vikings are intent on keeping Peterson -- as they seem to be -- and the running back wants to be elsewhere, the only way to make that happen appears to be through a trade," writes Goessling. "Even though Peterson turns 30 on Saturday, and is scheduled to make $12.75 million in 2015, the feeling in league circles is he won't come cheap in a trade; the Vikings are thought to be seeking at least a second-round pick and another piece. If Peterson's camp wants a deal to happen, the best way to facilitate it is to let the other teams in the league know they have only one way to get him."
Peterson may be unhappy - as has been reported by several different media outlets - but he doesn't seem like the type of player to sabotage a team or create a locker room distraction based solely on his own wants and needs.
Still, the Vikings may not want to keep a player disinterested in remaining a member of their football franchise and shipping out Peterson and his massive salary for what could eventually amount to a good-to-great return - what Hartman dubs a "stunning" trade offer - may wind up being the best outcome for all involved parties.
That assumes, of course, that Spielman is made an offer which he cannot, in fact, refuse.
