The drama between Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. By all accounts, Peterson still wants out of Minnesota and the Vikings are still unwilling to grant that request. Should make for some entertaining offseason story lines.
What's lost in all of the speculation is the fact that Peterson doesn't really have any leverage in the situation. He missed all but one game last year and recently turned 30. Either suit up for the Vikings or don't suit up at all.
"I think that is a fact," ESPN NFL analyst Bill Polian said. "It's very clear-cut. It's black and white, despite any protestations to the contrary. Secondly, if you were to be interested in trading for him, that means the Vikings control the ability to move him. No one else. So there is no third-party interaction here. This is a question of whether or not the Vikings want to trade Adrian Peterson to someone else. So I think those two sets of facts have been lost in all of the noise that surrounds this situation almost since last January."
Peterson met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week before his possible reinstatement in the near future. If he is allowed to return to the NFL he will have three years remaining on his contract for $45 million. That deal makes any trade a bit more complicated.
"Compensation is [general manager] Rick Spielman's call, and I'm not going to farm his land," Polian said. "The fact of the matter is that [Peterson] has a very, very fair contract, in my opinion. He's the highest-paid back in the league, I believe. And he has a multi-year contract. So he would be ostensibly available for three more years if any team ever trades for him. To me, that mitigates whatever his age is. He's also had a year off, which is probably for a running back a good thing. So the extent that his age is a factor if you were going to move him, I don't think it is a factor because he's under club control for the next three years."
Rumors have circulated that the Vikings could strike a deal on draft day, likely to the Arizona Cardinals or Dallas Cowboys. The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars are dark horses to land the RB as well.
"Could you make a trade for anybody on the clock? Of course you can. But the question of whether or not that player will report is another issue. And that's unknowable at this time. As a general manager, I would be very wary, given what's gone on up to this point, that he would report and honor that contract. I would have concerns about that if I were trying to make a trade."
