The Minnesota Vikings may look at an Adrian Peterson trade after the season and the Dallas Cowboys could be an option, as they have a major question coming with DeMarco Murray headed into free agency and the Vikings may look at a move after the breakout seasons for Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, as Peterson is taking up a huge amount of the salary cap on his contract moving forward.
Peterson has reached a plea deal for his child abuse case in Texas and now he is looking to get reinstated and put back on active duty with the Vikings. Peterson and his reps have asked for an expedited answer and he has a hearing set to determine his status for the rest of the season. Peterson has been getting paid while he is out and now he wants back in. According to ESPN.com, Chris Mortensen reported earlier in the season that the Vikings were ready to part ways with Peterson, whether that be through a trade or his release once the season is over.
Peterson has a huge contract hit over the next few years and that is one reason why the Vikings may make a move. The Cowboys have been mentioned as an option because of an Outside the Lines story from the summer that was a profile on Jerry Jones showed that the owner may have some interest in AP. The story detailed a phone conversation between the two saying that they both would like to join forces one day and while that was before the court issues, it still could be an option.
The Cowboys have Murray coming in after an amazing season and he will be looking to get paid and Andrew Brandt at the MMQB.com wrote that due to his heavy workload and the future breakdowns of RBs, the Cowboys may not want to pay up. Peterson obviously has a huge contract as well, but if he came in he probably would be slightly less than Murray is worth and also he would be in for less years than Murray likely will sign for. The Vikings also could release Peterson at some point and that would allow a team like the Cowboys to sign him.
Peterson comes in with a $15 million cap hit next season and right now he is making $14 million. The Vikings could release Peterson or trade him with $2.4 million in dead money next year and that could be a better option for the team, as the dead money is twice that this season. Peterson is one of the best backs in football history, but after the way things have gone there is a chance that the Vikings will look to split ways.
Even before all this happened, Mike freeman at Bleacher Report wrote about the chance of a split for the Vikings and Peterson. Freeman cited the fact that the Vikings have a new offensive coordinator that likes to use two backs and the diminishing value of RBs past 30 and overall at the position. All that coupled with the huge contract likely will lead to a split for the two sides Freeman wrote. The Vikings have a major decision to make and Peterson could be back on the field by the end of this season.