The Minnesota Vikings may look at an Adrian Peterson trade in the future and the Dallas Cowboys could be an option, as Jerry Jones has shown interest in AP, but with DeMarco Murray having an MVP season in real and fantasy football, the Cowboys may avoid looking at a Peterson deal unless he is released and this comes as Murray is set to possibly get a contract extension before heading into free agency.
The Vikings have Adrian Peterson on the exempt list until his legal issues are resolved and even if he is found not guilty in the case against him, there is a chance he will still get suspended. According to ESPN.com, the NFL may suspend Peterson based on the conduct policy even after his court issues are over and that could keep him from playing for the Vikings again this season. Chris Mortensen and other news outlets have reported that the Vikings are not looking at Peterson as part of their future plans and that a split could be coming after this season.
The contract is the big issue and if he misses the rest of this season on his $11 million salary, he will come into next year with a $15 million cap hit. That is a huge amount for an aging running back and after trade rumors came up last season while the Vikings were struggling, they will once again if Peterson is able to get through his legal issues.
Mike Freeman at Bleacher Report wrote about the possibility of a split between Peterson and the Vikings around the NFL draft, but obviously that was long before the issues with child abuse came out. Freeman wrote that the Vikings and Peterson are likely to break off at some point over the next two seasons, as Peterson is getting to that RB age of 30 when players start to break down and he is also making a ton of money that is eating up cap space.
A couple years ago the idea of a Peterson trade seemed crazy, but now it's not looking just likely, but inevitable. If it's not a trade, it likely will be a release of Peterson and the Vikings could eventually do it without getting hurt too much on the cap. The team would have to hold onto him a bit longer, but after the next year the dead money on his deal is gone and that could lead to a move. With Murray likely getting paid big and the Cowboys cap what it is, the only way he ends up there is if he gets released.
The Vikings had planned on using two backs more this season with Norv Turner coming in and that was one sign about Peterson, but now that he is gone, the Vikings have found that they have two solid backs on the roster. While no one will ever mistake Jerick McKinnon or Matt Asiata for Peterson, both players have combined to give the Vikings enough so far this season. While that may not be enough to get rid of AP, it helps that both players have performed well.
