The futility of the Steven Jackson era may have scared plenty of members of the Atlanta Falcons front office into shying away from veteran running backs, but that being said, there's really no comparison between Jackson, who was a very good running back in his heyday in St. Louis, and Adrian Peterson, who is likely to go down as one of the best running backs to ever play in the NFL.
If the Minnesota Vikings decide at any point that they've had enough of the temper tantrum Peterson has thrown since the overturning of his NFL suspension, which came in the wake of domestic violence charges, should the Falcons and new head coach Dan Quinn look into bringing in the bruising, violent ballcarrier?
"New head coach Dan Quinn saw the importance of a running game as the Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator during the past two seasons. Kyle Shanahan stated his desire for a workhorse running back shortly after becoming offensive coordinator. 2014 fourth round pick Devonta Freeman sits at the top of the depth chart after Steven Jackson's release. Peterson would provide some much needed balance to a pass happy offense. The Falcons, who have slightly under $18 million of cap space, are one of four teams to throw at least 600 passes in each of the last three seasons," writes Joel Corry for CBS Sports.
With the Vikings holding pretty much all the cards in the Peterson stalemate, his desire to head elsewhere may prove an entirely unimportant aspect to this whole situation, but if a team like the Falcons were to pony up enough in compensation, the Vikings may be willing to part ways with Peterson, not to mention save themselves a boatload of cash in the process - Peterson has three years remaining on his deal with Minnesota for $46 million.
Devonta Freeman is a talented back and a player the team has repeatedly talked up this offseason, but he amassed just 248 rushing yards and one touchdown last year for the Falcons. His role as "the guy" in Atlanta is purely a projection.
Peterson, were he actually brought onboard, would immediately upgrade the Falcons' Super Bowl chances and take significant pressure off quarterback Matt Ryan who, as Corry notes, threw over 600 passes each of the last three seasons - 628 last year, 651 in 2013 and 615 in 2012.
Were a deal to materialize, Corry believes the Falcons would be forced to part ways with their second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft "at least," and may require the Falcons and Peterson to work out a contract restructuring prior to the trade being consummated.
