The Minnesota Vikings may look at an Adrian Peterson trade or release in the future and if that happens, the Dallas Cowboys could look to add the running back to help support DeMarco Murray, while the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins also could be options for the team and this comes as the NFL has upheld his indefinite suspension.
Peterson appealed his suspension from the league and that decision was upheld and now his future in the NFL is up in the air. According to ESPN.com, Peterson spoke about the possibility of retiring or competing in an Olympic sport if he can't get his ban overturned and he has also spoken about his frustrations with the process. Peterson was placed on the exempt list after his child abuse case came to light in Texas and after his plea deal was reached, the NFL suspended him until at least April 2015. The NFL upheld the suspension despite the fact that league exec Troy Vincent said Peterson would get a two game ban in newly released audio tapes.
New audio has been obtained by ABC News and now ESPN.com and Deadspin report that NFL exec Troy Vincent did in fact say to Peterson that he would get "time served" for his time on the exempt list. This was a point of contention for the league in the appeal hearing for Peterson and now the audio has been released and shows that Peterson was told that would happen. Vincent also said that the process would play out and that Peterson would be "back" soon and that he would get two games as punishment.
Peterson now has his NFL future up in the air and his future with the Vikings in question. Before his plea agreement was reached, Chris Mortenson at ESPN.com wrote that the Vikings were prepared to move on from Peterson in the future. The team did not know whether Peterson would get suspended or not at the time and once that came down, sources said that he would have been welcomed back to the team had he been reinstated. Peterson spoke in a USA Today interview soon after that and said that a fresh start may be the best option for both sides after all that has happened.
Peterson is considered to be one of the best backs in the NFL and this is not a Ray Rice situation where AP was declining like Rice was heading into this season. While Peterson is getting to 30, he is still considered a productive back and if he makes it onto the market eventually, teams will be interested. The Vikings could go either way, as they have young players that have stepped up in Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, but they also could bring him back once he is reinstated.
Peterson rushed for over 2000 yards a couple years ago and the Cowboys could be interested in adding him behind Murray, as they will need someone to help shoulder the load going forward. The Dolphins and Raiders both will be making changes next season and they will need new RBs with players heading into free agency. The Patriots also could look at Peterson, but only if he is released since he has such a big contract with the Vikings.