Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson Wants Trade, but it Shouldn’t Matter
Sep 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel (16) hand the ball off to Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Adrian Peterson and his agent Ben Dogra have made one thing abundantly clear over the past several months: Peterson wants out of Minnesota. The Vikings, for their part, seem to be making their own point clear:
They don’t care.
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Or, they at least are posturing as if they do not care. To this point, the Vikings and their brass have made it clear to Peterson and Dogra that Peterson has a binding contract and that they expect him to honor his end of it, as Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports pointed out.
For my money, this is the only strategy that makes sense. How can Peterson possibly be this mad at the Vikings? Even if they did work with the NFL to keep him off of the field in 2014, which they probably did, what else were they supposed to do? They tried bringing him back and their sponsors started fleeing. In addition to that, they managed to stash him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, meaning he still got paid. The Wilf’s paid Peterson over $12 million in 2014 and got nothing in return. Actually, I take that back. They got negative press they did not want and the team got a major distraction they did not need. So, does Peterson truly feel jaded or is this the out he needed to request a trade out of town?
The other reason hanging onto him makes sense is his current market value. The 2015 Draft class for running backs is considered a strong one. When you factor that with Peterson’s baggage it is hard to imagine the Vikings getting fair value for him.
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Still, everyone knows what Peterson brings to the table. He is unquestionably one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. If he is even close to what he was, he adds an explosive element to a Vikings offense that could be primed to make the leap along with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings made improvements in 2014 but need the offense to rise up for them to crack the playoffs in the NFC in 2015.
As hard as I was on Roger Goodell when the Peterson situation blew up, it seems like he probably was right about one thing: Peterson does not seem to grasp the seriousness of what he did. If he actually thought what he did was wrong, he would not be acting like a martyr. He would come back, hat in hand, grateful for the fact that his career is not over.
Due to the simple fact that I want the Vikings to be as good as possible, I want Peterson back. Reading the tea leaves, it seems more and more likely that he will be.