The return of Adrian Peterson to the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 may not be a foregone conclusion despite the public support from the team, as Peterson has expressed some pause about coming back and if a trade or his release happens, teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers could be potential landing spots.
Peterson has been in the news quite a bit lately, as reports have him wanting a trade out of Minnesota and the Dallas Cowboys as his top option. Bleacher Report's Jason Cole first reported that Peterson asked for a trade to the Cowboys and while that story was later refuted, the interest in Peterson going to the Cowboys is real. CBS Sports reports that sources have said that Peterson will "never" play again for the Vikings and this comes after recent reports about a dispute between the organization and Peterson's agent.
CBS Sports reported that Ben Dogra, the agent for Peterson, and a Vikings front office executive got into a heated exchange at the NFL combine. Peterson reportedly was not happy with the way the Vikings facilitated his move to the exempt list earlier in the season and that could be part of the reason why he doesn't want to return. Money will be a factor in things as well, as Peterson has a big cap hit and if he is released or traded, he will want to be compensated. Peterson also missed the entire season apart from one game in 2014 and missed out on that money.
The CBS Sports report from the combine incident also included another team that could be ion the mix for Peterson, mentioning the Redskins as a "dark horse" candidate to acquire him. The Cowboys have emerged as an option after last summer when Peterson and Jerry Jones spoke about their mutual affinity for each other, which was reported by ESPN.com. Peterson is front Texas and with the team debating about whether to sign back DeMarco Murray, this could be an avenue they could go down.
Peterson's future has been up in the air since he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and the earliest he can come back is in April. Peterson has the highest cap hit of any running back in the league and that could lead to the team asking Peterson to take a pay cut. According to Ben Goessling at ESPN.com, the Vikings may ask Peterson to take a pay cut to get his $15 million cap hit down and that could lead to the possible departure of the franchise star if he doesn't agree.
Peterson has been one of the best running backs in football during his career and apart from this past season and when he injured his ACL, he has had at least 1000 yards. Peterson has rushed for at least 10 touchdowns every season apart from last year and while he is going to be 30, he will have one less year of wear and tear on his body after missing most of this season. Murray has injury issues in his history and while he lasted through 2014, he touched the ball over 400 times and could be in line for some regression.