Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was deactivated and then later reinstated after his indictment and arrest on child abuse charges and while the team has said they aren't planning on releasing Peterson, reports say a trade could be an option in the future and this comes after Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys was connected to Peterson in the offseason in a phone call about potentially playing in Texas.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Vikings felt comfortable bringing Peterson back after learning more about his case and now he will be active for Week 3 against the Saints. The website also reported that the Vikings were not considering cutting or releasing Peterson, but that a potential trade in the future could be possible. Peterson's issues were in the news at the worst possible time for the NFL and the Vikings already have lost a sponsor due to the incident.
Before the incident with Peterson hit the media, Jones and Peterson were mentioned in a story on ESPN in a profile of Jones about the potential of AP playing in Dallas. Peterson is from Texas and Jones has long been looking for a superstar running back to bring to the Cowboys and while this situation may not be the best way for it to happen, there is always a chance crazy Jerry could get it done. The report had Jones and Peterson on the phone about possibly playing in Dallas in the future, but the call was not considered tampering since Jones did not originally know it was Peterson on the phone and he did not initiate the call.
Either way, Peterson's future it as bit unclear and while he is set to play this weekend, the Vikings may not want to deal with his high salary and the PR of keeping him on the team. Peterson is considered to be one of the best players in the NFL and a high character guy and while some have defended his actions as disciplining his child, many others have come out to say what he did was abuse.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post wrote after the issues with Peterson this week that the Vikings are not releasing Peterson, but that a trade could happen in the future. Peterson's name came up in trade rumors last year while the Vikings were struggling and after the NFL draft, Mike Freeman reported that the Vikings and Peterson could be headed for a split soon. The RB position is one of decreasing value and since Peterson is getting to that age when backs breakdown, it could be hard for the team to justify his high salary and that his release or trade could be in the cards. The team will have dead money on the deal for next season if they do it, but later on they could do it without any dead money.
Owner Zygi Wilf and the Vikings clearly want to win this weekend, which is why they reinstated Peterson, but the future for AP and Minnesota is still unclear. Peterson will get his day in court and the team will likely lean on that, but at some point they will have to make a major decision on what to do with him.
