Adrian Peterson has been put on the exempt list by the Minnesota Vikings after his child abuse charges in Texas and now Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk reports that a trade is likely over AP suiting up for the Vikings again and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins could be interested in making a move if the aging back is traded by the Vikings.
The news about Peterson and his child abuse charges came to light during the worst possible time for the RB and the Vikings, as the NFL was still dealing with the fallout of the Ray rice situation. Peterson was first deactivated by his team and then reactivated before the public pressure became too much and then the Vikings worked out a deal to get him on the exempt list. The team has to pay Peterson and now he likely will end the season with one game played, 75 yards rushing just two years after rushing for over 2,000 yards.
According to Pro Football Talk, Florio writes that it's very likely that Peterson has played his last game for the Vikings, as the situation with the child abuse along with the fact that the team likely will not want to keep paying him once he's 30 and beyond means he will be done. Peterson is basically "suspended with pay" until the legal situation finishes and that means hearings and a trial and that means his season is likely over. There's almost no way this is resolved by the end of the season and now eyes are on the $12.75 million salary next year and the high cap number.
Mike Freeman at Bleacher Report wrote months ago that a split was possible and while he had no idea this situation would come up, the nexus for the move was correct, as Peterson is expensive and aging. Freeman wrote that the team is moving away from a single back set anyway and with Peterson getting to that age when Rbs break down, there was no way the team could justify paying him as much as he was signed for. Freeman wrote that a release or trade was likely and now Florio has added to that.
The Dallas Cowboys are always an option when talking about Peterson and that comes from the OTL story on ESPN this year about Jerry Jones and his interest in Peterson. The two were caught speaking on the phone about AP playing in Dallas and while this situation has made Peterson a bit of a hot coal, Jones likely would have no problem bringing the star home to Dallas. One local writer already put the idea out there and said that the climate in Texas about discipline should welcome Peterson with open arms. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen.
Peterson may be able to restart his career somewhere else and he may end up with a strong finish to that career, but any all-time records and other accomplishments are likely out of reach. Peterson missed time with an ACL injury a few years ago and now he likely will be out for this entire season while the legal process plays out and that leaves his future very up in the air.
