Thus far through the Adrian Peterson drama there has been little to no progress.
The Minnesota Vikings want Peterson for the 2015 season. They believe he and second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater can form the foundation for a successful offense. But Peterson has made it known at every turn that he wants out. Despite maintaining publicly that they have no intention of trading him, the Vikings have done their due diligence and found, unsurprisingly, that teams aren't keen to give up multiple draft picks for a 30-year-old running back with a salary cap hit north of $15 million next year.
But what if there was a team willing to do that?
Grantland's Bill Barnwell laid out a trade scenario in which the San Diego Chargers shipped their first-round pick this year and a conditional 2016 fourth-rounder to Minnesota in exchange for Peterson and a 2015 second-rounder.
"One team that might be able to justify trading for Peterson is San Diego," Barnwell wrote. "The Chargers were lost at running back last season, as the now-departed Ryan Mathews missed most of the year with an injury, free-agent acquisition Donald Brown averaged a lowly 2.6 yards per carry before getting Mike Scifres killed in punt protections, and receiving back Danny Woodhead broke his leg. Rookie free agent Branden Oliver was better than Brown, but not by much.
"The Chargers are also negotiating a tricky year in their franchise's history, one that could end with the team staying in San Diego with Philip Rivers or heading to Los Angeles without him. As they transition away from the Rivers era, trading for Peterson would be a interesting distraction gambit. There's something strange about building your team around a guy who just missed virtually an entire season because of an assault charge, but public opinion around Peterson has seemed to soften. The Chargers could deal for Peterson regardless of what they do with Rivers, trading down from no. 17 to no. 45 while including a 2016 fourth-rounder that could escalation if Peterson plays well in San Diego."
This is just a hypothetical scenario, but it is interesting to consider. If the Vikings do back off their no-trade stance with Peterson it will happen in time for this week's NFL Draft. If it does, the Chargers could join a handful of teams that are rumored to be interested in AP.
