Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson had his suspension overturned on appeal and now the running back can be reinstated to the league soon and the team may look at the trade or release of Peterson if he doesn't agree to restructure his contract and if that happens, the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals and Patriots could be interested.
Peterson appealed his suspension and U.S. District Judge David Doty agreed with him and overturned the decision, which could lead to Peterson getting reinstated by the league. According to ESPN.com, Doty ruled that the new personal conduct policy should not have applied to Peterson, as it was implemented after his legal case and punishment. Peterson is now back on the exempt list, which is where he was placed after Week 1 of the season when the news came out about his child abuse.
The Vikings have been open about wanting Peterson to return, but his future is still up in the air as Ben Goessling at ESPN.com writes that he has a high cap hit and could be asked to take a pay cut. The league year starts March 10 and Peterson could be reinstated then and the Vikings now can start talking with him about his future. Peterson has the highest cap hit of any running back in the league and is making over $12 million in salary and the team could ask him to take a pay cut.
Andrew Brandt at the MMQB and Goessling at ESPN.com have both written about some skepticism of the Vikings openness of wanting Peterson to return, as it likely will come down to money. The Vikings are positioning themselves as open for Peterson to come back, but if they want him to take a pay cut and refuses, they would look like the good guys of the situation. Either way, Peterson's contract status remains a major question and if he doesn't want to take a pay cut, he could be on his way out of town.
There have been reports that Peterson is uncomfortable returning to the team after the way they "rushed" him to the exempt list, but there is a chance Peterson could work things out. Peterson's father Nelson Peterson spoke with the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Chris Tomasson reported that his father said he has "heard rumors" about the Cardinals, Cowboys and Colts. All three teams make sense for Peterson, as he would likely want to compete for a Super Bowl and those teams all have needs at running back.
The Cardinals are a good fit, as the team needs more help at running back with Andre Ellington coming off of a season where he dealt with injuries. Arizona was one of the worst rushing teams in the league and they could look at adding a veteran like Peterson. Carson Palmer is coming back and the defense is very good and the team is expected to be back in the mix for the playoffs after making it this season. The Colts are also a good fit, as Ahmad Bradshaw is a free agent and Trent Richardson likely will not be back. The Colts have a top quarterback in Andrew Luck and they are coming off of an appearance in the AFC championship game and could be one of the best teams in the NFL next season.
