The Minnesota Vikings probably won't be trading Adrian Peterson at the deadline and while I agree that it would be a bad move, there has been some speculation that the Vikings could part ways with their All-World back and for pure speculation, the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins appear to be solid options if the Vikes go down that path.
As evidenced by the game on Monday night, the Vikings are not a very good football team and while the Giants aren't much better, they looked far and away more cohesive than Minnesota did on offense. Part of that reason was Josh Freeman making his first start quickly after being signed by the Vikings and while Peterson is also dealing with a slight injury, that's no excuse for giving him the ball 13 times and making Freeman throw it over 50 times.
The Vikings are about to move into a new stadium and coming off of a playoff season, trading your franchise player isn't always a smart move, but with the team now just 1-5 on the season and looking like they are going nowhere fast, perhaps it would be beneficial to get a bunch of draft picks for a player at a position that takes a ton of hits. Peterson is having another very solid season despite being the only main offensive threat for the Vikings, rushing for over 500 yards already with five touchdowns and he currently ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in yards, rush yards per game as well as touchdowns.
The Vikings made Freeman pass over 25 times in the fourth quarter and while Peterson did not get much going on the terrible rush defense of the Giants, it isn't a good sign that they kept the ball out of his hands. The biggest running back trade that could compare to one of this magnitude funny enough included the Cowboys and the Vikings, as the Cowboys traded away Herschel Walker for a boat load of picks and players and now the opposite could happen.
This deal likely will not be going down and Peterson probably won't go anywhere, but if he did, the Cowboys or Dolphins would likely have to give up at least two or three first round picks plus a few other lower picks. The Cowboys are dealing with an injury to DeMarco Murray and are ranked 24th in rushing and with the way Tony Romo is playing this season, having a consistent rushing attack could make the team into a very good contender in the NFC. Romo is already over 2,000 yards this season with 15 TDs and adding Peterson to the backfield would make them a Super Bowl option out of the NFC East.
The Dolphins are ranked 25th in rushing with Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas and after spending a ton this offseason, they could decide to go for broke again. Peterson likely WILL NOT be traded, but come on, some speculation is fun, no? The Vikings are bad and could be getting worse over the next couple years as the QB situation shakes out and with Leslie Frazier on shaky ground, things could get blown up for the franchise.