Minnesota Vikings: Differing Opinions on Adrian Peterson’s Future
Feb 6, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson autographs a dollar bill as he leaves the U.S. District Courthouse with his wife Ashley Brown Peterson as the NFL Players Association.
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Now that Adrian Peterson’s hearing for reinstatement has finished there is renewed attention on his future. This event has dovetailed with another: Kevin Warren, the Minnesota Vikings former Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer, has been promoted to the team’s Chief Operating Officer. Going from CAO to COO is more than alphabet soup; It gives Warren more sway within the organization.
The reason this is relevant to the Peterson story is the perception that Warren was one of the loudest voices with the franchise saying Peterson should be gone. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Peterson was referring to Warren and a lack of support in this quote:
"“I know there’s people in the organization that support me and there’s people that I know internally that has not been supporting me,” Peterson told USA Today Sports. “Maybe it’s best for me to get a fresh start somewhere else.”"
This quote was from November, and both Peterson and the Vikings have both been positive about the prospects of his return, at least publicly, since. Still, that has not stopped the speculation. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio sank his teeth into the Warren-Peterson “schism” today. In his article, “Kevin Warren promotion could seal Adrian Peterson’s fate in Minnesota”, Florio said:
"The ascension of Warren while Peterson’s status remains unresolved possibly isn’t a coincidence. Regardless of any influence Warren may or may not have in the decision to keep or not keep Peterson, the move could make Peterson even more determined to get a fresh start elsewhere."
Despite all of the speculation, the only one who knows what Warren really thinks about the Peterson situation is Warren. For his part, Warren said today:
"“I think I’ve made it very clear how I personally feel about Adrian, how our organization feels about him. [Vikings president] Mark Wilf made it very clear yesterday. … Last year was a complicated year, at various levels, but once Adrian gets all of his items resolved with the NFL, is free to play again and rejoin our franchise, I think it’s good for Adrian. It’d be good for us, it’d be good for all the Vikings fans, it’d be good for our community and it’d be good for the NFL.”"
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I do not know Adrian Peterson personally of course. It is certainly possible that he may hold a grudge strong enough against Warren that this could be the straw that broke the camel’s back and send Peterson down the road. To me though, if he has the support of the coaches, owners and fellow players, I don’t think this alone would make Peterson want to leave. He has spent a lot of years in Minnesota, some good some bad. He has always struck me as the type to see things through to the end if possible but time will tell.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ben Goessling still thinks it must be the money that will decide his fate:
"I still think the fulcrum for Peterson’s future in Minnesota is his contract. He said in December he didn’t see why he should have to take a pay cut, and while the Vikings would have the cap space to carry his $15.4 million cap number next season, they would be paying a 30-year-old running back more than eight times the league average at his position. There’s a risk in even approaching a player of Peterson’s status about a restructured contract, but it’s certainly reasonable to think the odds of succeeding in such an endeavor are better if the Vikings’ relationship with Peterson is on solid ground."
On paper it definitely makes sense for the Vikings to restructure Peterson’s contract. The running back position has been severely devalued in the NFL over the past decade, turning into a plug and play position for many franchises. That being said, Peterson is one of the greatest running backs of all-time. It could be argued that his contract as it reads has already been earned despite his legal troubles. The other factor is the precedent issue I brought up in an earlier article on Greg Jennings. Prospective free agents and current Vikings coming up on contract extensions may be wary of the team if they believe the rug may be pulled out from underneath them at any point. Again, the legal issues make this case different than most, but that is still a factor.
My opinion is that Peterson will be a Viking next season, and should be. Beyond that will depend on how 2015 goes. I just think he has built up too much equity to release at this point and his trade value is not at a high point right now.
Now, I will ask you the same question I asked about Jennings. What do you think the Vikings should do?