Adrian Peterson has the chance to be reinstated this week by the NFL and once that happens, the Minnesota Vikings may consider a Peterson trade this offseason, as the two sides have not been able to agree on how to move forward and he is traded, teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins could be interested.
The Vikings have been public about wanting Peterson to return, but Peterson's agent has said that it may not be in his best interests to come back. According to NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport, Peterson can apply for reinstatement starting April 15 and while it doesn't guarantee that he will officially be put back on the roster yet, it likely will come soon. This would be the formal application for Peterson and it comes after he met with roger Goodell last week about his status.
Peterson was placed on the exempt list last season and later was suspended, but his suspension was later overturned on appeal. According to Pro Football Talk, Peterson plans on applying for reinstatement and the NFL could wait to officially put him back on the roster. The Vikings and Peterson are allowed to talk about his status, but right now there are no reports of the sides meeting.
Peterson's agent made comments about Peterson and his future and if he is traded, he likely will restructure his contract. Mike Zimmer said to ESPN earlier in the offseason that Peterson is under contract and the team plans on having him back in 2015. Peterson has three years left on his deal and over $40 million and that is why many around the league think that he will be tough to trade.
Peterson has a $15 million cap hit and that is the biggest of any running back in the league and he also has a $12.75 million salary. The Cowboys and Cardinals have shown interest in a deal for Peterson, but both teams have tight cap situations and may not be able to get one done. Dallas remains an option after Tony Romo has his deal re-worked, but the team may not want to give up high draft picks to get it done. The team has been responsible in the past couple years in the draft and after signing Darren McFadden, they may not go after AP.
The Vikings used Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata last year and they are prepared to use them as the starters again if Peterson is moved. The team also likely will target a running back in the draft whether Peterson is traded or not, as that would give them insurance down the line if he is gone. The draft class this year is very deep and past the top names like Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon are players like Duke Johnson, Ameer Abdullah and Tevin Coleman.
Peterson is 30 years old and while that is the year most running backs break down, Peterson has been productive in his last two full seasons. Last year Peterson had 75 yards in one game and previously he had 1266 yards and over 2000 yards in the previous two seasons, scoring 22 touchdowns in that time.