Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings may be headed for a split this offseason and if a Peterson trade happens, the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be potential landing spots, although no deal is close to happening.
Peterson has been mentioned in trade rumors all offseason and that followed his push the exempt list last season while dealing with his legal issues. According to Pro Football Talk, the Vikings are not pushing a trade for Peterson and the team is leaning towards not making a deal. Mike Florio writes that the team likely will not trade Peterson unless they are "blown away" by the trade package of draft picks or players.
According to the Pioneer Press, there are "six teams" in the mix to get Peterson, including Dallas, San Diego, Arizona, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, but if a deal doesn't happen by the draft or during it, it likely will not happen. Florio added that the draft will be the best chance for the teams to work out a deal, as the clock for picks and how the selections develop in the first round could dictate if a trade goes down. Peterson is reportedly unhappy being in Minnesota, but the team still has time to turn his attitude around.
Mike Zimmer said that the team is expecting Peterson back and the Vikings overall have been consistent about wanting to keep the running back. The Raiders were mentioned as a potential option earlier in the offseason, but it appears they are out of the mix now. The Cowboys were once looked at as the favorites in the chase for Peterson, but the team likely does not want to give up draft compensation for a 30 year old running back.
The Buccaneers and Jaguars have the cap space, but Peterson might be better off staying in Minnesota than going to those teams. Peterson's agent has been public about his client's status and whether it's best for him to stay in Minnesota, but right now the team has leverage. The contract Peterson is on makes it hard for him to get traded and he also likely will not get money from another team at that price tag. Peterson may be better off playing things out in Minnesota if he wants to make as much as he is set to get paid.
Peterson has a $15 million cap hit and is making $12.75 million in base salary and that likely leaves teams like the Cowboys and Cardinals out of it. The two teams would love to add Peterson, but taking on that amount of money now would be very difficult. ESPN reports that it would take multiple draft picks to get Peterson from the Vikings. Peterson is 30 years old and while he is a very productive player, teams may not want to pay that price.
Stephen Jones was asked about the situation with Peterson and he said on the radio that the team is not trading "pocks for veteran players". The team can't speak openly about Peterson like that anyway, but it makes sense based on what Dallas has been doing. The team let DeMarco Murray go because of age and injury concerns along with money and reports have the Cowboys looking at the draft for more depth at running back.